Week 6 [30.05-5.06.2016] How social media affect us?

How did social media actually influenced our life and the society in general?

First e-mail was sent and delivered in 1971, now we can't imagine our life not only without internet but social media and smartphones. It's all about connections, social media based on our feeling, we are curious what's going on with our friends and family members, we can connect with everybody we want and the same time and feel important to stay well informed. Someone who would remove his accounts, it's like he is not longer exist. If you have social media channels like fabebook, instagram, twitter etc, you probably know what it means.

We almost can feel this pressure. It's psychologically proved that even our bodies receive adrenaline from checking in social media. 10 minutes of using social media can raise oxytocin levels in blood 13%, it creates feelings of trust and security and also reduces anxiety levels. When we use social media channels, we use the same brain area that is activated when we processes feeling about food, sex and money.

The number of people using mobile devices for social media increased 500% in just 3 last years.

It's also addictive and make us compare our lives with other people. 

Communication (+)

That's the biggest plus of social media. We are living in a time where the world is open to us. We can contact anyone around the world, at any time and it's free. We can also share elements of our life, from what we enjoy to photos of ourselves and those in our lives. It is like being a part of that person’s world, even though distance keeps you apart.

Business (+)

Social media has definitely made us closer to other parts of the world. Social media is a cheap but very effective way to enhance brand image and popularity compared to TV commercials today.

Knowledge (+)

We can learn from internet and social media channels. We can share a lot of interesting stuff others don't know about.

Productivity (-)

We use social media even at work. You check your profiles or viewing YouTube or your favorite blog during work hours. Data shows that we use social media like facebook 81h a year. We don't spend much time on social media channels but we distract our work a lot of times for quick brakes.

Any privacy (-)

Social media sites and apps encourage everyone to be more and more public about every detail in your personal life. It's hard to control some pictures and posts we forgotten, sometimes even employer could do a background check. We have to be more careful with private life's post and other posted information.  

I think that the effects of social media have been balanced. There are many good things about it, and many bad things. If you can keep your own life real and use social media channels as a small part of it, you should be fine.

Questions:

1. How often do you use social media?

2. What's the biggest advantage and disadvantage in social media channels in your opinion?

Week 6 [30.05-5.06.2016] Board games

Most  people thinking about board games probably will think about their childhood.  I believe all of us played Monopoly,  Checkers or Snakes and Ladders. And when we’re talking about that kind of games (maybe besides Monopoly) I’ll agree that they’re childish, easy and probably dull for grown-ups. 

Since the beginning of 21^st century, board games have been  having their renaissance. Let’s start with a brief history.

The oldest board games come from the  southeast of Turkey and they are over 5000 years old! Series of 49 painted stones were found at the Başur Höyük burial mound. Similar pieces were found in Syria and Iraq. It was The Royal Game of Ur (from the name of dynasty – Ur), researchers are not 100% sure about the rules, but basically it was a race game. 

The oldest game are from the Middle-East, India and China. They were used as gifts or as a learning tool. Probably some of you heard about Go –a  Chinese game used to examine would-be clerks.. Chinese also developed a game called Xiangqi – it’s a version of our chess (also from China).

What’s so awesome about board games? Everyone can find something for themselves. According to BoardGameGeek,  there are nearly 84000 board games in 84 categories with 51 mechanics (tracked by them). So if someone likes  to play against other people,  they could choose a board game with negative interaction (where one of your goals is to make your opponent hate you). Or maybe you want to help each other? There are cooperative types in which you play against the game! 

Also if someone is a fan of modern books or TV series, there’re games with themes from our culture. Let’s start with an  example: A Game of Thrones: The Board Game.

It’s a game for 3 to 6 players and your aim is to claim the throne of Westeros! You play against other players, you can form an alliance or betray your friend. Just like in the books. It’s kind of a hard game for beginners but having played it a few times , you can really feel the power of long term tactics.

Now maybe something easier.

Actually I started my journey with board games with this one.

Ticket to Ride: Europe. In this game you build a railway from one city to another and gain points for it. Everyone has  sets of goals -> for example to build a railway from London to Madrid and get a bonus from it. This game can be played with your family, with younger kids or older people, it’s for everyone.

There are also Polish, successful designers. Actually they’re one of the best in the world. I’ll present one game, which is the highest in rankings.

Author: Ignacy Trzewiczek (he also made a very good game named Imperial Settlers)

Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island.

It’s a cooperative game so you and your friends are playing against the board. You’re a shipwreck survivor  and your goal is to stay alive! So everyone is are building a shelter, finding food, fighting with beasts and conquering weather. It’s also a hard game and be prepare to lose a couple of times. Or maybe even more than a couple…

And now time for questions!

1.  Have you ever played any modern board games  other than checkers, chess, monopoly etc.)? Did you like it? What kind of game was it?
2.  An average price for a board game is ca.100zł. There are games that cost even 200zł! Do you think that kind of price is fair?
3.  What kind of game would you enjoy?

     Useful links:

     https://boardgamegeek.com/ Board game database. You can find here rankings, FAQs, fan made add-ons.

    http://www.gry-planszowe.pl/forum/ largest Polish board game forum. Here you can ask about rules, dispute over mechanics, or even buy or sell games.

     http://i-szop.pl/ search system and price comparer for games in Poland. Don’t overpay for your games J

Week 6 [30.05-5.06.2016] 7 amazing places you have to visit in Europe

ROME, Italy

It's a beautiful city with a lot of monuments, with more than two and a half thousand years history. It's not only the capital of Italy but a 'global city', it means that it is on 3rd place of the most visited city in Europe. Tourists love this place because there are a lot of UNESCO monuments and museums. Rome is one of this city you can't see everything in 24h. You need to stay there for few days to enjoy this specific Italian atmosphere.

BARCELONA, Spain

It's a gothic and modernist city on the Mediterranean sea. There are 4,5 km total beaches in city, but before 1992 there are none, seaside was completely run over by industries. La Rambla is the most famous street in Barcelona for sure, but did you know that it's not one street? It's a 5 boulevards joined to make one promenade as we all called La Rambla.

In Barcelona there are a lot of festivals and cultural events. Flamenco dance festivals in city center or once a year La Merce festival in september. It's a very interesting place with a lot of cultural attractions and architectural monuments worth seeing.

 GLACIER Snæfellsjökull, Iceland

We have a lot of beautiful places on our world but the best winter views are in Iceland for sure, this landscape was used for many movies and documents. In Iceland the 11% of country area is cover in glaciers (something about 11,400km2).  Every year a lot of tourists come visit and hiking. But Iceland's glaciers are in danger because of climate change, every year they lose some of the ice cap. 

FJORDS, Norway

Norway is a beautiful country and they have a amazing cities but they also have a lot of green areas, where you can enjoy nature. Fjords in Norway are the most beautiful in Europe. Fjords are found in general in locations where current or past glacier extended below current sea level. The longest fiord in Norway have 2014km long - sognefjord, it's also the deepest one it have 1,300m high.

MONT SAINT MICHAEL, France

Mont Saint Michael is an island located 1 km from northwestern coast. In 2009 the island has a population of 44 people and it's visited by more than 3 million people each year. This place is on UNESCO list. In 2014 they build a new bridge connected island with France (which was completely submerged on 2015 by high sea level).

PETERSWORLDSE Meer Lake, Netherlands

In this breathtaking environment you can ice skate. This is the most visited places in Netherlands because of unbelievable surroundings. It's the biggest natural area to ice skate. Almost every year it' open from December to February, it depends on how low the temperature is.

PLITVICE Lakes National Park, Croatia

When you want to rest and spend some time with nature, it's a perfect choice. This place was found in 1949 in national park which is the oldest in southeast Europe and the largest in Croatia. It was added to the UNESCO World's register and now more than 1,200,000 people visits this area every year. There are 16 lakes connected to each other with waterfalls. It should be a magical place.

1. Do you like to travel and exploring? Why?

2. Have you ever been in one of these places?

3. What's on your bucket list?

Week 6 [30.05-5.06.2016] IMCF – International Medieval Combat Federation

IMCF – International Medieval Combat Federation

(https://www.facebook.com/imcfederation/photos/a.567519696654575.1073741827.566656326740912/567678756638669/?type=3&theater)

Let’s start with some explanation what is the IMCF. In Wikipedia we can read (longer and more detailed version please see link below): “International Medieval Combat Federation was founded in 2013, and now the organisation attracts for various competitions hundreds of fighters from 26 countries. IMCF is a global historical full contact sport fighting movement, in which fighters use historically accurate reproductions of medieval and early modern armours and blunted weapons to engage in competitive fights according to authentic historical tournament rules. First World Championship in 2014 took place in the 15^th century Belmonte Castle in Spain, the second tournament in 2015 was held in Malbork Castle in Poland, and this year championship location is Montemor-o-velho in Portugal.“

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Medieval_Combat_Federation )

2015 – Poland, Malbork Castle2015 – Poland, Malbork Castle

(https://www.facebook.com/imcfederation/photos/a.566741613399050.1073741826.566656326740912/812455558827653/?type=3&theater)

IMCF World Championships 2015 Promo - Malbork Castle, Poland 

 It is really hard to describe the atmosphere that I experienced in Malbork last year during IMCF World Championships – it was my first tournament as a member of a crew. From a tourist perspective, you can only see fights and a small part of the camps of all nations that participate in it.  From the re-enactment side , you can go to every camp and talk with everyone, you can sit there and spend two or more hours listening about history – presented in a completely different  than you know from school. You might as well learn historical songs from all over the world and later on, during another medieval event, present it to others. The atmosphere and meeting all those people are amazing parts of this kind of event. Because of those astonishing feelings and excitement that overwhelmed me while I was watching fights with our great National Team  I became their devoted fan and started to support them during each and every tournament, even when I cannot be there myself.

Last year our National Team won ten medals: 6 gold, 3 silver, and 1 bronze. That result put us first  in the global classification!

CATEGORY 1 vs 1 POLEARMS

Female:

1) New Zealand – Sophie Stockbridge

2) Poland – Kamila Henkelman

3) RPA – Christa Martin

Male:

1) England – Paweł Kurzak

2) Spain - Jose Martine Amodeo

3) Poland - Robert Szatecki

CATEGORY 1 vs 1 LONGSWORD

Female:

1) Quebec – Benedicte Robitaille

2) Poland – Agnieszka Lasota

3) Japan – Kiyoka Kagawa

Male:

1) Poland - Wiesław Kurek

2) Austria – Joji Ishikawa

3) Lithuania – Arturas Korpavicius

CATEGORY 1 vs 1 SWORD AND SHIELD

Female

1) Germany – Denise Brinkman

2) Quebec – Bénédicte Robitaille

3) Poland – Maja Olczak

Male:

1) Poland – Marcin Waszkielis

2) England – Łukasz Kowal
3) Estonia – Jaan Murumets

CATEGROY 3 vs 3 FEMALE

1) Poland

2) England

3) Spain

CATEGORY 5 vs 5 MALE

1) Poland

2) England

3) USA

CATEGORY 10 vs 10 MALE

1) Poland

2) England

3) Denmark

CATEGORY 16 vs 16 MALE

1) Poland

2) USA

3) Denmark

( https://www.facebook.com/sportowe.walki.rycerskie )

IMCF 2015 16 VS 16 POLAND VS USA FINAL GOLD & SILVER

2016 – Portugal, Montemor-o-Velho

Official site: http://www.imcf2016montemorvelho.com/

This year we will be fighting in Portugal – let’s keep our fingers crossed for our National Team. On the official website you can watch it live  – I hope that you will be watching it with me and supporting our national team!

Links:

IMCF Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/imcfederation

Article in newspaper about Poland winning IMCF World Championships:

http://fakty.elblag.pl/zakonczyly-sie-mistrzostwa-swiata-w-sportowych-walkach-rycerskich-imcf-2015/

Polish League site: https://www.facebook.com/sportowe.walki.rycerskie

USA Knights IMCF 2015 -  fights day 1:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFSMRgdIu6LCF96GqKRdfohXI4xsAFURr

USA Knights IMCF 2015 - fights day 2:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFSMRgdIu6LAbokjI7jZ9hBlSKtLptu6B

USA Knights IMCF 2015 - fights day 3:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFSMRgdIu6LD8kM74wJJG8s5uttHqa7qp

USA Knights IMCF 2015 - fights day 4:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFSMRgdIu6LBVfMr9wIBs7kJZqYvS8FDA

Questions:

1.      What do you think about medieval combats?

2.      Do you have a hobby? Please write about it.

Week 5 [16.05-22.05.2016] - Giallo means yellow

Giallo is an Italian movie genre which reached its peak in the 60s and 70s. But lately it's been gaining more fans around the world, and more people are inspired by its spectacular nature.

The name giallo means yellow and comes from the yellow book covers of the Italian pulp series, which included cheap thrillers, crime stories or bloody science fiction. One of its founders was an Italian experienced cinematographer and a novice director Mario Bava.

In 1960 he directed one of his first movies “Black Sunday”, which became a very big title in the US, because of the scenes of violence which were rarely seen in the local film market.  Then it was a class B movie, now it’s an iconic piece of Italian cinema. As a director he was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's movies, gothic horror, and fantasy. Once interviewed he said that a man and his fear interests him the most , and that’s what he tried to capture in his works.

http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/28778/1._giallo.jpeg

http://i.wp.pl/a/f/jpeg/28778/1._black_sunday_mario_bava.jpeg

Besides Mario Bava most and best known is Dario Argento, the director of Suspiria, Profondo Rosso and many more iconic movies.

http://www.screenrelish.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/5751.jpg

The characteristic elements of giallo cinema are paranormal happenings, brutal and violent crimes, lots of gore and fear. Nevertheless,  this ugly reality is always wrapped in beautiful cinematography, full of eroticism and tension, stunning sophisticated set design and a mysterious plot. The directors were fascinated by serial killers, satanic organizations, witchcraft and paganism, which stimulated the viewer's curiosity and lured the spectator deeper into the story.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9IGbZ64gZSl_CW9LBaGAQ_JvZyb2FAmYKAZiYavvLEQVQj7Xd0y26oH3zgEggcxIMbwOUtoESO7HzrJrFGbGl4Xs-bJb3PXVGlp6caESOgJsDUHyqfnmolhteU1tkNo8MDW8EzDMuucy/s1600/phenomena.jpg

Once Dario Argento said : “ Films are dreams. Many, many critics say to me that my films are not good because they are too unbelievable, but this is my style. I tell stories like they are dreams. This is my imagination.”

And because of that violence is only background in giallo cinema; those movies are not just horrors, they show a lot of emotions and real passion for art. The characters are often confronted with their dark side, so it’s not as simple as it seems to be in so called horror movies. As I mentioned earlier, the creators of the genre had different interests, and it lead to the extraction of three main giallo subgenres: an Occult horror film, a psychological thriller and an erotic crime story.

http://horrorfanzine.com/movie-review-black-belly-of-the-tarantula-1971/

So if Dario Argento with his pagan, witchcraft inclinations is the occult horror representative, Lucio Fulci, the director of a very rare motion picture called “One on top of the other”, would be the master of the erotic crime giallo. This unusual film  was edited in three versions : French, Italian and American, and each of those is slightly different.

Of course there are a lot of giallo movies which are not so easily categorized . I encourage you to explore the topic by yourself, because those movies can be really addictive and fun if you agree with the director's concept.

One of the fun facts is that a majority of giallo movies were recorded in the native language of the actors but later they were dubbed for the local versions. It’s one of the characteristic features of giallo. As we are speaking of sound in Italian giallo, one of the most recognizable things are fabulous movie soundtracks, which have become iconic in some way. For example,  in Dario Argento’s works  music was composed by a progressive rock band Goblin, and in the “Black belly of the tarantula” the person responsible for the soundtrack was the famous Ennio Morricone.

 This genre is often an inspiration for the contemporary horror creators like Tim Burton, whose personal idol is Dario Argento (You can see that in “Edward Scissorhands” or “The nightmare before Christmas”). And it also has inspired and evolved into a new genre - slasher, which developed particularly in the United States--“Friday the 13th”, “ The Texas chainsaw massacre” or “Halloween”. Mixing  genres Quentin Tarantino uses giallo in his creations. You can experience his giallo mashups in “Reservoir Dogs” and in “Kill Bill”.

There’s now a new wave of this genre, maybe you heard  of a movie called “Amer”-- it’s basically a contemporary giallo.

http://www.joblo.com/images_arrownews/Colourbodystears2can724.JPG

My presentation is only a brief description of all the aspects of the Italian giallo cinema, but I hope you enjoyed it, and you’ll watch any of the mentioned movies.

Questions:

1: Have you seen any of giallo films? How did you like them?

2. Do you enjoy watching scary or gore movies?

3. Who is your favorite director?  Why?