"ENGLISH ClaSs"

The Blog I visited was “ENGLISH ClaSs”. There are plenty of posts, but the last three of them are from this course: “My favourite work of art”, “Monte Verde. Seaweed, Food, Medicine, and the Peopling of South America” and “A web site I enjoy visiting”.

In general, I think this blog has very interesting posts…from art to anthropological websites. About the layout, I have the same one!! (but in another version)…so I guess I like it. About the pictures, maybe you should add one picture to every post you make so visitors can get a clear idea of what they’re reading. But that is just a suggestion.

The review about her favorite work of art, the latest one, was my favourite. I guess that’s because it was a more enjoyable task to do and the fact that I also like Manet a lot, and impressionism in general. The second one, “Monte Verde. Seaweed, Food, Medicine, and the Peopling of South America”, was the one I enjoyed the less…and, again, maybe because the type of task (Ps: the homeworks should be more fun!), it’s a very specific paper about a very specific matter. But it’s OK anyway.

…I almost forget, thanks for the website tip. It’s always difficult to find good piano scores in the Internet. Bye!

Stravinsky's Les Noces _Свадебка_

Les noces is one of the earliest works of Igor Stravinsky, but also one of the greatest. If you try to classify it as a ballet, you'll loose the richness of this kind of work. Experts prefer to call it a choreographic-scenic cantata, wich means that the lyrics, music, dancing and performing in general are equally important.
Stravinsky composed the score, wich is extremely difficult due to its irregular rhythms and atonal harmony, proper of this composer and his russian folk tradition. This work is challenging not just to the performers, but also to the audience. Les Noces’s amazing expression force can overwhelm us: the dancing style is rougher than others ballets, the lyrics are half sung-half spoken, the topic is dismal (it’s about an arranged marriage!), the costumes and set desing are austere, the dancers have no expressions on their faces, etc. All these features make it a rupturist work.
The use of the words adds an important element, the strength of the Russian is used in the way the musicians play their instruments and pronounce the lyric. Stravinsky always said that “the words are an excuse of music”.
The reason because I enjoy this work that much is the creative way Stravinsky uses simple elements to create an entirely new and complex style…wich is the product of an genuine need of expression, not just a whim.
If you’d like to watch It, here’s the link of the version I first saw:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi-5mugSiX4

One of the latest news about autism

A group of scientists at Yale School of Medicine have found that focusing on mouths more than on eyes could be a predictor of autism in toddlers (younger than 2 years old) and the level of social disability. Using eye-tracking technology, this scientists could quantify visual fixations of this little kids and study relationships with their caregivers and the mother-child interactions.

Looking into other people's eyes is very important at this age, because it sets the basis for the socialization process, the perception of other's feelings and thoughts and the shaping of social mind.

This kind of investigations are useful because they offer "biomarkers" of the presence and severity of autism, and help the research on the neurobiology and genetics of this syndrome. Investigators are very proud of this novel methods, because they will allow the early detection of autism, or any kind of social disability, and that way take part in the improving of the child's outcome. An early intervention can improve the toddler's developing brain.