ESO 2, 3 & 4 Assignment: 30th March - 19th April

Dear ESO Students,

During this extension of the lockdown situation, you will be missing 3 sessions (remember Easter Holidays extend from Saturday 4th to Monday 13th April). This is your assignment for that period. This is a group task. Just like for a PBL, you will have to do it along with your Olympic colour classmates.

It would be wise to distribute the workload evenly among each and every member of the group; some of you are good at translating, some are good at using image edition software, some are good at writing, some are good at organising teamwork... Now it's the time to use and take advantage of Skype, WhatsApp or whatever Internet communication tools you feel most comfortable with and get this job done!

Your task is to download, translate and adapt this inspirational poster (Just Keep Missing) by artist Gavin Aung Than into the language of your choice: Galician or Spanish.

You should translate EVERY SINGLE WORD IN ENGLISH YOU SEE IN THE COMIC STRIP, create a new jpg or png file and once it is polished and finished, the captain of each Olympic group will have to forward it to my mail... As it is a group task, only one e-mail per Olympic group is allowed (that means 4 e-mails per class or a total of 24 e-mails for ESO 2, 3 & 4). 

Keep the poster as it is: do not change any of the images. Just keep the same layout, fonts and colours as in the original, and substitute the English words (and only the English words, not the words in other languages, e.g., French) with your Galician or Spanish version.

Gavin Aung Than's favourite fonts are Creative Block and Red State Blue State.

Your file identification must be as follows: GROUPCOLOUR_CLASS.JPG or GROUPCOLOUR_CLASS.PNG. Example: RED_3A.PNG.

You must fill in the "subject" section of your mail messages with YOUR GROUP IDENTIFICATION. In your email messages you must also include the full names of each and every member .

No automatic translations are allowed (forget about Babel, Google or any other of those useless translation gadgets) and you bet we will easily find out if you use one: CRIME NEVER PAYS. You will have to use your talent. Make it sound natural.

The deadline is Sunday 12th April at precisely 23:59:59. ATTENTION! NEW DEADLINE! SUNDAY 19TH APRIL at precisely 23:59:59. No messages will be accepted beyond that point.

Remember that in our 'Online Dictionaries' section and our 'Resources' section (which you can find on the right-hand column of this blog) you will find all the tools you need to solve this PBL. We definitely recommend Wikipedia, Wordreference, The Free Dictionary, Linguee and Questions and Answers.

As usual, feel free to contact me at labor.teacher@gmail.com if you have any queries or doubts. I will try to reply as soon as possible.

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

2nd Term PBL Assignment

Dear Students,

This is your PBL assignment for the 2017-18 2nd term. Your task is to translate and adapt this inspirational poster (The Art of the Side Hustle) with words by Chris Ghillebeau and illustrations by artist Gavin Aung Than into the language of your choice: Galician or Spanish.

You should translate EVERY SINGLE WORD IN ENGLISH YOU SEE IN THE COMIC STRIP, create a new jpg or png file and once it is polished and finished you will have to forward it to our mail.

Keep the poster as it is: do not change any of the images. Just keep the same layout, fonts and colours as in the original, and substitute the English words (and only the English words, not the words in other languages, e.g., French) with your Galician or Spanish version.

The deadline is Sunday 18th February at precisely 23.59.59. No files will be admitted after the deadline ends.

Go Beyond the Cover

“Don't judge a book by its cover”, a metaphorical phrase meaning that when you have only seen the surface of something, you cannot know what is on the inside...

Alan Watts: What if Money Was No Object?, by Gavin Aung Than

(Reblogged from Zen Pencils)

Labor Students,

Last 8th Nov 2012, we published a post about an amazing lecture by the late professor Alan Watts:

What if money was no object?

What do I desire? Be the change that you would like to see in this world.

And last Tuesday 8th January, Gavin Aung Than illustrated that same lecture on his website Zen Pencils

Alan Watts (1915-1973) was an English philosopher and writer who played a large part in popularising Zen Buddhism in the west. He gained a wide following after moving to the United States where he published numerous books on Zen and Eastern philosophy. During the 1960s and 70s he toured extensively on the college lecture circuit and became a celebrity among the growing youth movement. Watts had over 25 books published and recorded over 400 lectures, many of which have found a new audience on YouTube.

We hope you like this cartoon as much as we do!

First 2013 Quiz - Guess the City

ESO Students,

10 points will be awarded to the student who sends us the FIRST email including:

1. The names of the different cities in English
2. One famous monument of each city which is also represented in the drawings below.

(Click on the image to enlarge)

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

Mona Lisa's eyes may reveal model's identity

The following article by Tom Kington was published on the Guardian last Sunday 12th December.

An Italian researcher, Silvano Vinceti, has sparked new controversy over the world's most famous painting by claiming Leonardo da Vinci painted tiny letters into the eyes of the Mona Lisa which may finally reveal the disputed identity of his model.

To arrive at a theory worthy of The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's 2003 bestseller, researcher Silvano Vinceti avoided the Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile and instead gazed deep into her eyes with the help of high-resolution images.

"Invisible to the naked eye and painted in black on green-brown are the letters LV in her right pupil, obviously Leonardo's initials, but it is what is in her left pupil that is far more interesting," said Vinceti, the chairman of the Italian national committee for cultural heritage.

Vinceti said that the letters B or S, or possibly the initials CE, were discernible, a vital clue to identifying the model who sat for the Renaissance artist. She has often been named as Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a Florentine merchant, but Vinceti disagreed, claiming Leonardo painted the Mona Lisa in Milan. He said he would announce his conclusions next month.

"On the back of the painting are the numbers '149', with a fourth number erased, suggesting he painted it when he was in Milan in the 1490s, using as a model a woman from the court of Ludovico Sforza, the Duke of Milan," said Vinceti, who claimed earlier this year that he had identified the lost remains of the painter Michelangelo da Caravaggio.

In The Da Vinci Code, Brown suggests Mona Lisa is an anagram for Amon l'Isa, referring to ancient Egyptian deities.

"Leonardo was keen on symbols and codes to get messages across, and he wanted us to know the identity of the model using the eyes, which he believed were the door to the soul and a means for communication," said Vinceti.

He said that while researching the model's identity he had been inspired by a 1960s book by a French art historian, which mentions the letters in her eyes.

"Under the right-hand arch of the bridge seen in the background, Leonardo also painted 72, or L2, another possible clue," he added. "Two expert painters we consulted on this tell us that all these marks, painted using a tiny brush and a magnifying glass, cannot be an error."

The eyes have it. Everything you need to know… or at least the clues. And the world famous Mona Lisa is no different. Good Morning America uncovers her hidden symbols.

REPORTER: “In the right eye, he claims, are the letters ‘LV’ – Leonardo da Vinci, the man who painted her 500 years ago. And in the left eye, symbols, but they’re not as defined. ‘C’ ‘E’, maybe ‘B?’ In the bridge, is that ‘72?’” 

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEEEEAN?? We have four answers. First, Lalate says the letters in the left eye reveal the real life Mona. That’s if you believe researcher Silvano Vinceti: “Previous researchers had said Lisa Gherardini was the model. Vinceti disagrees, says he has determined the model’s identity, and claims his findings will be released in January.”

Not so! Just ask Regis and Kelly…and ABC World News Now. Hmph…maybe not the most informed opinions of all time…

LIVE! with Regis & Kelly

PHILBIN: “In the right eye, appears to be the letters ‘LV,’ which could well stand for his name.”

RIPA: “Louis Vuitton?”

PHILBIN: “’C’ and ‘E’ or ‘B.’”

RIPA: “Or it could be two ‘G’s for Gucci.”

ABC MALE ANCHOR: (Photo of ABC News logos in eyes) “We took a closer look and we actually found something a little different. That’s what it says (She’s our mascot). Who knew years ago that da Vinci would be creating this for us?”

FEMALE ANCHOR: “Well, she’s often to referred to as the world’s most beautiful woman, so it’s only fitting she has the world’s most beautiful show in her eyes.”

Finally, an art historian on CNN argues it might just be a weird code. He says da Vinci did lots of strange stuff like carry around the painting for years, so no one could touch it: “That’s not only crazy. That’s amazing to me. I love when I hear something like that. As far as why he did those things—I think when you’re that kind of brain faced with all the other normal brains like the rest of us around him, maybe you just get bored…maybe you are writing a secret message.”

Up next for the researchers….they want to dig up da Vinci’s 500-year-old body to see if his face resembled the Mona Lisa’s. Art history never sleeps, ladies and gentlemen… 

Writer: Chance Seales

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

Newsy: Van Gogh Painting Worth $50 Million Vanishes

“Oh no not again. Flower power. The Mahmoud Kalil Museum of Art in Cairo camera’s and alarm system were out of order.” (Euronews)

A multi-million dollar Van Gogh - vanished. But front-page headlines throughout the Middle East indicated that the painting was recovered – and Real Estate Radio USA thought so too: “The beautiful painting by Vincent Van Gogh ‘Poppy Flowers’ has been finally recovered on Saturday. This work of art is worth over 50 million dollars. ... The thieves were caught red handed trying to leave Cairo.”

Euronews has the latest report of what really happened with the suspected thieves: “The Egyptian state news agency says security had tracked down an Italian couple who was spotted visiting a museum and then leaving in a hurry but they turned out to be empty handed.”

Now, the search is back on. This is the second time the painting has been stolen. An independent Egyptian Publication, Al-Masry Al-Youm, reports the museum lacked operational efficiency: “… [The] Public Prosecutor … toured the museum grounds Sunday and issued a harsh assessment of the security set-up, calling it ‘a facade.’ Only seven of the 43 security cameras were operational, ‘and even those seven were not functioning perfectly,’

‘Each painting in the museum has an alarm. Not a single alarm for any painting is working.’"

And according to Bloomberg, another disaster at the museum the very next day: "A crowd of news photographers and cameramen attempting to take pictures of the prosecutor today stumbled over a statue of Cupid, which shattered on the marble floor of the entrance courtyard, raising cries of despair from museum staff.”

Security was so lax that the suspects were able to stand on a couch and simply cut out the painting. But what do you do with a Van Gogh? The Smithsonian.com reports the market for stolen art is a significant portion of the illicit global economy… roughly 4 to 6 billion a year. 

What do you think? Mastermind thieves? Or was it just too easy?

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