This Season’s Must- Have Accessory : Designer Babies!

-Yes, they are all the rage! Designer babies are the ultimate shopping experience! Now, thanks to gene therapy, you can choose your baby’s eye and hair colour and its height, so as to match it with yours! – isn’t it just great!?

- RUBBISH! In such a shallow society used to a shopping frenzy and plastic surgery, designer babies were bound to be the next trend. Not so long ago, babies’physical attributes and gender were pretty much a hit-or-miss affair, which nobody would dare complain about. And, even if gene therapy was ultimately conceived of, it was merely with the sole purpose of having it applied to an embryo to ward off a possible disease. Within a decade or two, however, not only will parents be able to choose from a wide range of physical attributes but they will also be able to pick out their babies’ IQ and personality type.

Doesn’t it strike you as sick and evil the fact that parents would go to such extremes in order to produce what they consider a “perfect and beautiful” human being ? I challenge these parents- if they deserve to be called parents- to please define the concepts of “perfect” and “beautiful” from an ethical point of view, and to ask to themselves if beauty and perfection truly make us “better people”, before making hasty decisions about gene therapy. Or else, two controversies may stem from this issue.

On the one hand, fears exist that we will breed a race of super humans who look down on those humans without genetic enhancements.Consequently, discrimination against those whose genes have not been modified may rise, and this could contribute to create a gap in society.On the other hand, the genetic modification of humans can pose an ethical debate about the rights of the baby. It seems that if genetic modification takes place, parents, in effect, would then be entitled to choose, over their babies to be, from attributes which are by no means likely to ever be reversed in the future.

All things considered, techniques for making designer babies should only be applied when it comes to disease prevention, not to “improve” what nature has dictated. We need to grapple with the above serious implications designer babies may have on us if we do not want mankind to meet its doom.

I hope this article gives food for thought on such a thorny issue.

Comic Strip...My Reflection

....women dieting - classic!

I have never before written a comic and, to my surprise, I came to like it. I reckon it’s a very witty way to put down your thoughts concerning trivial as well as controversial matters. Witty though, at the same time, tough, mainly because you need to, first, think of the ideas you’d like to share with others,and then, you should also carefully select the way you’re going to express them successfully through humour. Not that I have achieved it – hopefully I did,but humour is something very hard to achieve when writing since many variables come into play, namely the target audience, register,onomatopoeic words, and the like, and the comic writer has to keep them all in mind.
All things considered, I have found this experience most enriching and fun mainly because the task proved to be very different from what we’ve been doing, which definitely made it all the more intriguing and exciting. It certainly struck me as a really cool task to work with since it felt as a more relaxed task than other more formal ones, I guess this may be due to the fact that we were allowed to use informal language,which comes out more naturally, and of course, humour.

Names

Hiya! How’s it going!? The other day I came across this expression : “ a jack of all trades” (which is used to talk about someone who is not particularly skilled at a job, i.e. someone that doesn’t have a degree in sth, but that may know a little about everything, because he has learned or studied a bit of every subject.), and by chance, I’ve found that English speakers, mainly Americans, use names to label people due to their personality traits or their physical appearance. In the main, Americans make use of such names so as not to sound obvious that they are feeling attracted by,getting at,or speaking ill of certain people. Of course, these expressions are used when the register is informal. If this piece of information catches your fancy, check out the meanings below! Hope you enjoy it :) !

A Kyle : Kyle is a way to describe a man (or a way to call a man) who is favored by most and many women for obvious reason. How to spot a Kyle: Looks. He is insanely gorgeous, and normally would have brown/black hair with bright brown eyes. Personality? He's cruel to people he doesn't know, but once you get in his inner circle, he's the nicest man in the world. He is generous, but knows when he's giving too much. He is funny, but knows when to be serious. He knows exactly how to make people smile, no matter how serious you might be. If you ever bump into a Kyle, try to get him. Because it will be the best thing you'll ever do in your entire life. He's worth everything you've got to offer, but he won't ask for it.
E.g. : My friend is definitely a Kyle. I want him so bad!

A Kevin: a person who is dirty, smells of B.O. (Body Odour), or never takes a shower.A jocker, a person with no friends. A lame person in general
E.g. : Damn, your dog’s a kevin!

A Joey: Brit slang. Insult. Term used to denote someone who has performed an act of unparalelled stupidity. The name is an abbreviation of a highly publicised sufferer of cerebral palsy in the 1980's called Joey Deacon. His name lives on in playgrounds and workplaces across the country everytime someone fails to engage their brain. Insult often combined with a forcing of the tongue firmly into the lower lip with an accompanying "mmmmmmmuuhh" sound.
E.g. :"Mate, you won't believe what Dave just did"

"What?"

"He just sent a naughty text message to his girlfriend Monica"

"So?"

"He sent the message to the other 'M' in his phone book by mistake. He's on the phone to his mother now trying to explain."

"Hahahaha. What a f****** Joey."

www.urbandictionary.com

A pain in the neck!

Has it ever happened to you that you’re watching the juiciest part of a movie, all very frightened, interested or excited when the movie, out of the blue just comes to a halt for...the bloody advertisements?! Oh boy, it’s just so irritating that I cannot take it. I cannot get used to watching a movie after so many breaks. I’m pretty sure you can totally put yourself in my shoes, after all, who enjoys a movie in such a way? But the bottom line is that these breaks are for commercials to hold the floor, do you have an idea of how negatively they can influence us? Let me share my views on this matter with you!

They have become part of our lives. Either on the T.V, radio or even on the streets, we are constantly bombarded by them. We can not escape from them - advertisements are everywhere. Let’s face it . They have serious consequences on us, having an impact on our private lives, our culture, and on the way we take in the information they transmit to us.

Advertisements are flooding into our private lives. Doubtless, it happens to most of us that while watching our favourite T.V show, comfortly sitting on a sofa at home, our hilarious, conflicting or mysteriously intriguing programme is disrupted by a string of annoying, never-ending commercials. Or even worse, while watching a movie that is reaching its climax, what happens then ? Advertisements! This may have a negative influence on people’s mood as it takes away from them the only moment they have to unwind and leave all worries behind. It is just NOT fair.

Apart from breaking our concentration, or ceasing our sense of adrenaline rush when watching or listening to something, advertisements also intrude with our culture. They try to mould our preferences into what is most convinient for big firms to persuade us to buy their products. Corporations launch products into markets which never before used to consume them, trying to change in this way the customs and tastes of different societies all over the world just for companies’ only benefit.

Finally, as to the way we make sense of the underlying message they so subtly provide us with, advertisements are responsible for evoking certain images or patterns of behaviour that appear to be the right models to follow. Imposing such models as unique forces people to change their looks and their minds , and if this is taken to extremes, without a doubt, it may absolutely do away with our essence : individuality and uniqueness.

Buenos Aires takes our breath away

Hi girls! Hope you’re enjoying your pseudo–holidays! Lol! Here I am again, this time writing to tell you that last week I thought I needed a break from my family and my studies, so I asked my boyfriend what he thought about the idea of running away somewhere just for the weekend, and he totally agreed it was a great idea, and he went on asking me which destination was the most suitable for such a short trip, and, as usual, we certainly coincided that, by far, Bs As was the best getaway! Every so often, we catch a bus to Bs As to spend the weekend, we just love it ! Let me here tell you why we are so fond of Bs As ...!

What we find particularly attractive about the capital city is its stimulating culture, youthful energy and its vibrant nightlife. Bs As is a massive city, bustling with life and energy 24/7! So it doesn’t matter if you stop off during the week or by the weekend, you can always find interesting things to do and places to visit! During the day we usually pop quickly into the Malba museum to whiz around the current exhibition, which is, in the main, worth seeing. This time there was an over-the-top collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs, all concerning the 20th century Latin American Art - absolutely dazzling!

No matter how many times we do it, whenever we go to Bs As, we never tire of taking a stroll up the San Telmo market on a Sunday morning, where we can browse the great variety of hip and funky items, sold at the many stalls that are standing in line, on both sides, all along Defensa Street. The atmosphere here is very lively and cheerful, always charged with excitement; streets are mainly packed with hordes of young tourists who seem to be having great fun with their friends as they are exploring the so intriguing Latin America culture. At mid-day, we usually give ourselves a treat by ordering a roast beef like no other at one the many cosy spots San Telmo offers! Afterwards, we may head down to La Boca neighbourhood, just to chill out while listening to tango and having some coffee.

Bs As nightlife is, to our way of seeing it, one of the main highlights of any visit to the capital. We reckon it’s the underground bars, with their own different style, that make hanging out at Bs As so very special. For a guaranteed choice, if you’re big on rock music, we heartily recommend that you check out these places: Salon Pueyrredon, Acabar and Sugar. They are all nearby Palermo Hollywood neighbourhood – I know this neighbourhood sounds like a fancy, swanky place, though those pubs are by no means posh or stylish. If you head to these places, you’ll definitely rock the night away!

I hope after reading this Bs As will start growing on you ;) ! Just give it a chance, and go visit it for a couple of days, you’ll see you’ll find it such a great city too!

Jealous vs Envious

Sam: Which country on the Planet is most hated?

Pat: I don't know, which?

Sam: The United States. Which country do most people list as the most desirable place on the planet to live?

Pat: I don't know, which?

Sam: The United States.

Pat: How can that be?

Sam: Obviously they're.....(envious or jealous??)

Which option would you choose to complete the above dialogue??
Well, the correct answer is that you may actually use both! This is the exact point of my post today!The use of these 2 words really caught my attention once, so that's why I was keen on making a comment about them. Hope you find this helpful and interesting!

To my surprise, I heard that many times natives tend to use the word jealous in the same contexts in which we may have expected the use of the word envious instead .I looked them up in the dictionary to find out in what they differ. Then the meanings I found are the following:

Jealous ( of sb/sth ): feeling angry or unhappy because you wished you had sth sb else has ( Oxford Dictionary )
Eg: she’s jealous of my success
Children often feel jealous when a new baby arrives
Envious ( of sb/sth ) : wanting to be in the same situation as sb else ; wanting sth that sb else has. ( Oxford Dictionary )
Eg : they were envious of his success.
everyone is so envious of her.

.... Still, you may wonder then what the difference between them is. Even though their meaning, as you see, is very similar , we may even say they are synonyms, I ‘ve noticed that they mainly differ in the fact that jealous can also be used in a positive way. Jealous would then be like our “envidia sana “ . Check out these example that’ll help grasp this meaning of jealous:

Your hair looks shiny and smooth, I’m so jealous!
I’m so jealous you had the chance to travel all around the world! You ‘re just so lucky!

In addition to this meaning, jealous also means “being threatened by a rival in a romantic relationship or losing something of value to another person which happens to be yours already “,according to the urban dictionary. Certainly, this meaning is not shared with envious. An example of jealous in this sense would be :

She was really jealous of his boyfriend’s gilrfriends.


To sum up, jealous and envious can be used interchangeably when the meaning is negative and when it implies “feeling hatred/bitterness towards another person for having an advantage that YOU don't have(urban dictionary)”. Though when we mean we like or want something we lack, in a positive, friendly-like way, or when such a feeling is connected with a love relationship, feeling hate or bitterness towards others we may consider rivals, in any case, the term we use is jealous and NOT envious.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jealous

Muggles Away

If you are a Harry Potter fan, as I am myself, this juicy piece of news which I came across a couple of days ago may then absolutely catch your fancy! Guess what! The sooo awaited Harry Potter theme park has just opened in Florida!I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this article on the Guardian website, so I thought it as a more than interesting topic to share on my journal with you :)! Read it and spread the word to other fans!

Yes, fantasy became real. At this park, you can embark on the most thrilling voyage of discovery to unravel some of the intriguing mysteries of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy by engaging in one of the most nerve-racking ride ever : the GCI ride through scenes from a Harry Potter movie. According to the Guardian's article, in this 3D ride park-goers may fly over the forbidden forest, play Quidditch with Harry and Ron and come face-to-face with hollowed-eyed dementors.

An intense experience, huh? Well, there's more to it! Over and above, this impressive theme park replicates Harry Potter's world in EVERY way you may possibly imagine. For instance, if you are hungry while at the park, you can only buy food or beverages that are authentic to Harry's wizarding world. This means that you can grab a bite of porridge, cournish pasties, not to mention that you can have pumpking juice and butterbeer . I know all these things may have once sounded either inedible or undrinkable, but the fun part though is that you might end up acquiring a taste for them!

For more information about this FUNtastic theme park click on the link bellow! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did ;)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jun/18/harry-potter-theme-park