Last but not least

I haven't been very active on this blog lately. I must admit that I am not very gifted when it comes to writing. I always have so many things that I'd love to say but when it comes to writing them down it just seems impossible to write one reasonable and fully correct sentence. I usually spend hours before I get my written homeworks done (good luck to me on writing my BA thesis ). But since we won't have any English classes next semester and this is my last chance to torment you a litlle with my scribbles, I thought I should write this one more note.

During our classes this year we were talking about advertising and the way companies manipulate their consumers in order to sell them a product or a service. We also mentioned how important power of persuasion is. But there's one thing that may be even more important - being recognisable. A professional, well-designed logo is a key to succes. A good logo sticks in your head long after you forgot the company's name and is one of the most powerful marketing tools. It may give you a feeling of being a member of a specific social group (especially when it comes to clothes and cars).

Here's an example of one of my favourite clever logos of all time:

http://designshack.net/articles/graphics/50-fantastically-clever-logos/


Guess we still have a lot to learn.

149:0

I don't know if anyone of you watches World Cup in Brazil but this year's happen to be the most scoring World Cup in XXI century. While I was watching some of the matches I was wondering what was the highest scoring soccer game ever. I surfed the web and I found it!

In 2002 in Madagascar SO l'Emyrne lost 149:0 to AS Adema. It seems impossible to lost 149 goals in a 90 minutes long game but it turns out that this match was a form of a protest. During their penultimate meeting this two teams drew 2:2 but after the referees had awarded a penalty, SOE lost it and it was no longer possible for them to win the title. When they realised that they won't win the championship anyway and that they don't have anything to lose, the SOE players decided to protest during their next game with AS Adema. They intentionally scored 149 own goals. I can only imagine the look on the spectators faces. By doing that, they broke a Guinness Record previously set in 1885 (36:0).

Penalties are very often disputed. During this World Cup there are some extra cameras that help referees decide whether for example a goal was scored or not but unfair punishments or unacknowledged goals still happen from time to time.

Film music

Some people say that the best film music is the one you don't even notice during a movie, but I have to say I like to actually hear the music, as some of the pieces are really well-matched and give a scene a whole new meaning. I remeber to this day the scene from The Fountain when Tomas finally found the tree and this beautiful music was playing in the background:

It is called Death is the road to awe and is composed by Hans Zimmer, a German film composer. He has recieved four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award. He made music for such films as Gladiator, Inception, The Lion King, The Dark Knight and many many more. He also worked on the film Moonlightning (Fucha) written ad directed by Jerzy Skolimowski.

 There are a lot of other film composers that are worth knowing, some of them as well-known as for example Ennio Morricone and others who aren't so recognized but still very talented.

I think we should all appreciate film music and its makers because I can't even imagine watching a movie without it. It can't be easy composing something that matches so perfectly the images played on screen and gives them such unique atmosphere.

Raymond Maufrais

Recently I've been trying to find some time to read something else than French classics. A friend of mine told me about a book called "Zielone piekło". It is based on a notebook of Raymond Maufrais - a man who had decided to go to Brazil to discover American Indian tribes in Mato Grosso when he was 19. Three years later he set off on a lonely journey through Guyana jungle and he never came back from it. He left his camp and notes on the banks of Tamouri river and that's how we know what was happening to him before his disappearance.

Raymond Maufrais was born in 1926 in Toulon, France. In 1946 he decided to go to Rio de Janeiro where one evening he bet one of his friends that he'll go to the unexplored area of central Brazil. With a lot of luck and help, he achieved his goal. He made notes throughout this journey; he described the ups and downs, the people he met - the prospectors of gold who spends their lifetimes hoping to find yellow glint in the bottom of their pan, a lot of people of questionable morals.

His next journey was supposed to end in the city of Belem but Raymond never got there. When he was leaving, his father promised him that if he's not back in 6 month, he'll look him. After finding out that his son is indeed missing, Edgar Maufrais did everything he could to find him. He traversed Amazon looking for the smallest trace of a white man, unfortunately in vain.

Armed to the (milk) teeth

In 2010 the number of American kids under 18 who died from gunshot wounds was 1,337. The number of American kids and teens under age 20 who were hospitalized from firearm injuries was 7,391. That means that on average a child or teen is shot almost every hour.

Even though this numbers are terrifying, Americans not only keep on having guns in the home but they also produce little rifles for children. A company in Pensylvania called Keystone Sporting Armes produced in 2008 thousands of rifles in bright colours and advertised them as "My First Rifle". At first sight they look like toys but they do contain little bullets that are able to kill a child. Last year a five-year-old boy accidentally shot and killed his two-year-old sister while playing with one these "toys". The photographer An-Sofie Kesteleyn made a series of portaits that present American kids with their first little guns. I have to say it is quite shocking looking at a 8 year old girl holding a pink rifle that could potentially kill someone. Luckily, I am not the only one who thinks that guns in homes shouldn't be accepted. 

Boyhood

Few days ago I saw a trailer of a movie that I just can't wait to see. It's called "Boyhood" and it tells a story of a boy named Mason as he grows. Whats's so extraordinary about this movie is the fact that it's been filmed over 12 years with the same cast. 6 years old and 18 years old Mason are the same person.

In May 2002 the director of a movie and screenwriter Richard Linklater had decided to do something he has always wanted -  tell the story of a parent-child relationship that follows a boy from the first through the 12th grade and ends with him going off to college. 12 years later, in January 2014 his project "Boyhood" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. 

As I'm the same age as Ellar Coltrane (Mason) is, I think it will be fascinating to watch him growing up and changing, becouse I'll probably be able to indentify with his story with one way or another. Even though for a lot of people this movie may seem too long, too slow and too boring I have a feeling that it will be a beautiful timelapse of a young boy's life.

Handball

I'm not a big fan of any sport but one thing I genuinely like to watch is handball. It's one of the most exciting sports I've ever watched! It's fast, dynamic, and what's more important - it's high scoring. It's really good to know that your team will always score at least one goal. Many fans, especially those who somehow enjoy watching our football players in action, don't have that comfort.

Anyway, few days ago our handball team participated in Man's EHF European Handball Championship. Unfortunately they didn't make it through semifinals, they lost to Iceland 27:28 and finished this tournament on 6th position. But despite their defeat, they proved that they never give up, that they fight to the last second. Literally to the last second. I remember when in 2009 with just a few seconds left Artur Siódmiak scored a goal that qualified us to semifinal. Or just a few days ago during our match with Belarus when with 8 seconds left Jurkiewicz scored a winnig goal. I don't think that there was a single person that wouldn't be having a heart attack watching this game. Even players themselves said that they would be a perfect cast in one of the Hitchcock's movies.

I'm really glad that handball becomes really popular at least in Europe. Thanks to people like Bogdan Wenta, former coach of our team who is a living legend and extremely charismatic person more and more Polish people get interested in this sport. In 2016 European Championship will be organised in our country and I think it will be a great opportunity for everybody who's not into handball to give this sport a chance.