"Twelve angry men" is in the theater!

           A group of high school students went to Jaraguá Theater (in Novotel Jaraguá, at 71, Martins Fontes street, São Paulo downtown) to see the play "Doze Homens e Uma Sentença". The play is a drama written by Sidney Lumet, an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit.

The play is adapted from Lumet's film "12 Angry Men" (1957), It's the story of a dozen individuals, in a New York City courthouse, who are in charge of reaching a verdict. The defendant is a teenager boy who is accused of stabbing his father to death and the decision of convicting or absolving him must be unanimous. The conflict begins when one of the twelve jurors (this character is played by the actor Norival Rizzo) is not so sure about the defendant's guilt and it's exactly because of it that he is the dissonant vote of the group who has already decided by condemnation. Little by little, the juror number 08 presents convincing arguments that make all the other jurors rethink their position.

In 1997 a remake of the film under the same title was released by MGM and in 2007 "12 Angry Men" was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being culturally and historically significant.

At the end of the play, the students had the opportunity of meeting the actors and they kindly talked and gave autographs to our group. Under the direction of Eduardo Tolentino Araújo the play debuted on November, 19th 2010 and based on our group's opinion, it's highly recommended!

Post Question: For the students (or anyone else), who saw the play, the movie or read the script:

- If you were one of the jurors, what would be your vote, in the beginning of the deliberation?

-  If you were one of the jurors, based on your personality, which one would you be? Why?

Tip: To watch the 1957 film (Portuguese subtitles ), just click here.

St. Patrick's Day - the happiest day of the year!

       According to Heineken, today is the happiest day of the year because it's St. Patrick's Day...Does anyone doubt it? 

Of course we have all the religious celebration that must be remembered and I really like St. Patrick very much. Indeed, I think that the St. Patrick's prayer (or at least the one which is assigned to him) is the most complete prayer ever written because it's about protection in all levels and gratitude. It's also a great day (as an excuse) to have a pint of Guinness or any other beer that's your favorite one. But what makes this day really happy for me are two very special reasons: 

- First -  it's my father's birthday. Today he turns 74 years old and he has been very active, healthy and became more relaxed and is enjoying life doing what he likes to do: travel to the countryside and fishing. Celebrating his birthday has been very funny because of the children. And it's a great opportunity to get the family together. 

- Second -  my husband and I have an agreement - doesn't matter what happens on this day, if it was a great day or a perfectly trouble and complicated one - we will get together at the end of the afternoon and go to the nearest pub to have my pint of Guinness (because it's my favorite one) and his Weissbier  (a beer made of wheat). But the idea here is get a moment only for us, to chat a little and drink...no matter what! We often meet some friends there, but even then it's our moment to have fun. If we don't get some moments like this one for us, all the must-do things can make us forget about ourselves and, in the long run, it's very chaotic and harmful. After indulging ourselves, we go home to celebrate my father's birthday. So, the party keeps going on!

So, St. Patrick's Day, for me, is and always will be one of the happiest day of the year.

Enjoy it! And...

MAY THE LUCKY (AND JOY) OF THE IRISH BE WITH YOU!

No place for racism in this world

          With the advancement of technology and all the progress that man has achieved, it is unbelievable that there is still room for racist acts as we are unfortunately forced to witness in our day to day.

- Students in the class of the 6th year of Medicine, at UNESP (São Paulo State University), held a party to receive the freshmen dressed in costumes similar to the Ku Klux Klan, a well-known American racist organization that advocated white supremacy and attacked black. What for? What on Earth were they thinking?

- Some football players are attacked on the field, during the match, by opposing fans and even by other players, who seem to have forgotten that a fair game is won by the skill of  the players involved and not for stupid and childish acts.

These people would benefit if they could do an internship with the people who appear in this video offering a free lesson on what it means to respect another human being. This nice video was made in Lithuania and it brings hope that maybe one day everyone will be civilized enough to do the same as they did.  

Respect, this is the most effective weapon to combat such ignorance.

Post Question: 

- Have you ever been exposed to any kind of prejudice?

- Do you think that people as the students who were dressed like Ku Klux Klan and the football players or team supports, who has offended other players should be punished? What kind of punishment should they get?

Cinema in 2015

    2015 will be a very exciting year for the movie fans. There will be all kinds of films to please everyone, people from all ages.

Last month we could watch The Theory of Everything (A teoria de tudo), that is the incredible story of Jane and Stephen Hawking. A very nice movie that reminded me of Dilza (she’s the Physics teacher in our school and a huge fan of him). My 12-year-old niece wants me to go to the cinema with her to see Insurgent (it is a 2012 science fiction young adult novel by American novelist Veronica Roth and the second book in the Divergent trilogy) and The Hunger Games – part II. As I went with her to see the first ones, I guess it makes sense. My husband has already chosen Furious 7 (not only by the cars but also due to the “retirement” of Brian O'Connor)  and Jurassic World (a new dinosaur park is always very interesting).  My little niece will have a lot of fun with Hotel Transylvania 2 (there is a game in the tablet which was inspired in the first movie that she really enjoys playing) and Minions (who wouldn’t like them?). In October, to get the Halloween mood, Crimson Peak (with a good cast and a haunted house) is a nice choice. My students have already invited me to go to the premiere of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and of course I said "yes". As we did last year, we will talk about the movie after watching it, in a cafe, and that's a very nice, funny and meaningful moment. I myself am very curious to see Mogli (because I’ve always enjoyed this story), Frankenstein (because it will bring another perspective about the story from the point of view of Victor’s friend, Igor), Star Wars (the premiere will be on my birthday), Cake (because it shows how life can take us to the most unimagined places and actions) and Boyhood (my favorite actor is in it). But besides all that, there will be many good movies to enjoy, to think about and to keep on amazing us!

Post Question: 

- How often do you go to the cinema? Do you enjoy watching movies? What is your favorite kind of movie?

- Is there a movie that you are particularly interested in watch it? Which one? Why?

Tip: To see the trailers of these movies and the other options for 2015, just click here.

The start of a New Year

Another New Year has started and with it lots of promises, but the most important one is the possibility of change what not pleased us or to keep (and even improve) what make us happy! It's a time to set new goals (or renew some old ones) and indulges this idea of a "fresh start" that is

given to us once more. To celebrate that, I'd like to share a poem (written by David Boyce on 30 December 2006) that could express what I really think about this period. I do hope that this opportunity can bring people together, not only to the celebration, but also to all the days of 2015.

The Start of a New Year

The start of a New Year
Sees the beginning of change
You can start a fresh life
Or just even rearrange

The start of a New Year
To change so much to your life
You can make promises to yourself
Or vows to your husband or wife

The start of a New Year
Can block out things of old
Search forward in the year ahead
For the Pot of Gold

The start of a New Year
Can revitalise your soul
Think what you want out of life
To meet your special goals.

Post Question: 

-  What are your special goals for 2015?