Half As Long

I have made this letter longer than usual, only because I have not had time to make it shorter. 
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Labor Students,

If there is a piece of advice that we would like to give you when writing your compositions and essays  is to keep them SHORT and SIMPLE:

• Shorter is better
• Use short words: never use a long word where a short one will do.
• If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
• Try to make it half as long...

And now, please watch this clip from the beautiful 1992 film 'A River Runs Through It' (from minute 5.43 to 7.16; transcription to follow). You will find the secret: HALF AS LONG.

...So it was with my formal education as well. Each weekday, while my father worked on his Sunday sermon I attended the school of the Reverend Maclean. He taught nothing but reading and writing. And being a Scot.... believed that the art of writing lay in thrift.
--Half as long.
So while my friends spent their days at Missoula Elementary I stayed home and learnt to write the American language.
--Again. Half as long.
--Good. Now throw it away.


(You can find the full transcription of this videoclip and of the complete film here)

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Television is a Drug

Television is a drug. from Beth Fulton on Vimeo.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Thanksgiving - 4th Thursday of November

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Traditionally, it has been a time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest. While it may have been religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday. It is sometimes casually referred to as Turkey Day.

In Canada, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October, which is Columbus Day in the United States. In the United States, it falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Since being fixed at the fourth Thursday in November by law in 1941, the holiday in the United States can occur on any date from November 22 to November 28. When it falls on November 22 or 23, it is not the last Thursday, but the penultimate Thursday in November. As it is a Federal holiday, all United States government offices are closed and employees are paid for that day. It is also a holiday for the New York Stock Exchange and most other financial markets and financial services companies.

Are you Addicted to your Mobile Phone?

Clic here to enlarge image.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only

4th 2011-12 Quiz

Labor Students,

Here is the 4th quiz for this schoolyear (by the way, as of today you have not solved this one yet... There is 10 points to give away too...)

So, 10 points, as usual, to the first student to email the correct, complete answer to this question:

What is this?

WARNING: THIS QUIZ IS INTENDED FOR OUR STUDENTS, NOT FOR THEIR PARENTS

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Dolce & Gabbana: 'The One' (uncut version)

Directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino and starring Scarlett Johansson, Dolce & Gabbana presents its latest TV commercial. Please notice her pronunciation (if you focus on the actress' mouth you will understand her more easily.)

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Saturday 12th: Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a Commonwealth holiday (observed in all Commonwealth countries except Mozambique) to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. 

Los Septiembre

Los Septiembre is an indie pop band from Vigo. 2 of its members, brothers Marcos and Albert Lois, studied at Labor over 10 years ago. Marcos plays the drums and Albert is the bassist. The singer is Pablo Álvarez, and Celso Alonso is the guitarist. Their goal is to give a 1960's style and sound to their music.

Balaídos Stadium

ESO Students,

Last November 2nd, "Estadios de Fútbol en España", a blog about football stadiums in Spain, published a report on Balaídos stadium. As it is written in English we thought you might find it interesting. We hope you  will like it and maybe you can learn some of our recent history at the same time!

Balaídos Stadium - Vigo

If you were ever searching for concrete proof of Spain's diverse cultural mix, then travel to Vigo on its north-western Atlantic seaboard. More working class than the A Coruña or Santiago de Compostela, this tough industrial city is home to Europe's largest fishing port and lies just 20 miles north of Portugal. It is also home to the country's most westerly senior team whose name reflects Galicia's ancient and beloved Celtic links. This is RC Celta Vigo territory.

Real Vigo Sporting Club + Real Fortuna FC = Real Club Celta

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

ESO Students,

We give you again the post we published last year about Guy Fawkes' Gunpowder plot. Enjoy it:

In 1605, thirteen young men planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Among them was Guy Fawkes, Britain's most notorious traitor.

Spaniards ignore laws on pig slaughter

The following article was published by El País in English on Sunday 27th March 2011. As St. Martin's day is drawing near we thought that it would be a good idea to bring it back.

That home-killed taste: Spaniards ignore laws on pig slaughter

Thousands of animals are butchered the traditional way despite a ban by European Union

10 facts about you

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Convocatoria de Movilidad del Alumnado Comenius 2012

El Programa Comenius tiene por objeto reforzar la dimensión europea en el campo de la educación infantil, primaria y secundaria, promoviendo la movilidad y la cooperación entre centros educativos.

La Movilidad de alumnado Comenius es una iniciativa europea para permitir que el alumnado de educación secundaria pueda estudiar durante un período de entre 3 y 10 meses en un centro educativo de otro país europeo, viviendo con una familia. 

Sus objetivos son:

3rd 2011-12 Quiz: Strong Mind

Labor Students,

Here is the 3rd quiz for this schoolyear (by the way, as of today you have not solved the previous one yet...) This one is open to all ESO students at Labor.

So, 10 points, as usual, to the first student to email the correct answer to us: Your task is to transcribe the text in the image below correctly (spelling, punctuation, etc.). Easy, isn't it?

Good Luck!

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Coldplay: Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

It is a long time since our last musical post, so we thought Coldplay's concert in Madrid last week deserved a celebration. It is really hard to set one song apart from the rest in their album Mylo Xyloto, but we think that Every Teardrop is a Waterfall is special, not only because of its melody, but specially because of its lyrics and spectacular videoclip. Pure Coldplay at their best... or is Paradise even better... what do you think. Leave your comments and let us know!


Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall was released on 3 June 2011, as a digital download except in the United Kingdom where it was released on 5 June 2011. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. The song contains elements of the 1976 song "I Go to Rio" written by Peter Allen and Adrienne Anderson.