Eating disorders

Models link to teenage anorexia

The media's obsession with painfully thin fashion models has contributed to the growth in eating disorders among young girls, according to the British Medical Association.

A report by this association  identifies a link between the images of "abnormally thin" models which dominate TV and magazines, and the rise in conditions such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

The degree of thinness exhibited by models chosen to promote products is both unachievable and biologically inappropriateThe gap between the ideal body shape and the reality is wider than ever

British Medical Association report

There are an estimated 60,000 people in Britain with eating disorders. Nine out of ten are female.

The report calls for urgent action to reduce the pressure on young women to be thin, asking publishers in particular to be more responsible.

Find more information at:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/769290.stm

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/76241.php

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fiona_Condron

Family hides French model’s death

Isabelle Caro dies at age 28

One of the tragic examples of an eating disorder that ended up in death was the case of the French model Isabelle Caro. Read some information about the case and think about this issue. Then debate it with your colleagues and teachers.

Isabelle Caro, 27 years old, weights 31kg. Isabelle appears naked on billboards in an effort to raise awareness of anorexia as an illness, but also to promote fashion label No-li-ta. This has caused the outrage of people such as the head of the Italian Association for the Study of Anorexia as they claim that the campaign might have the opposite effect and it might be promoting an emaciated look on young girls. The fear is that young girls will try to compete to achieve Isabelle's appearance, portrayed by controversial photographer Oliviero Toscani.

If you’ve seen the story on television, then you remember the shocking anorexic body of Isabelle Caro who promoted ‘No Anorexia‘ during Fashion Week of 2007. The family has decided to not release the news to the media that early last month (November 17th) Isabelle died.Find more information at:

Caro was featured in an ad campaign by Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani in 2007 for an Italian fashion house. Under the headline “No Anorexia,” Isabelle Caro said in an interview she had suffered from anorexia since the age of 13.

Caro died on the night of November 17th, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan, of causes related to her anorexia.


http://hubpages.com/hub/Anorexia-and-Milan-fashion-week
http://www.zimbio.com/Isabelle+Caro/articles/jsnjAsw3j7T/Family+hides+French+model+death+Isabelle+Caro

The Pursuit of Happyness

Dear Pupils and colleagues,

at the moment me and my pupils of the 12th grade - Curso Profissional de Análise Laboratoriais- are watching the film the Pursuit of Happyness. NO, sir, I'm not wrong. I didn't make a mistake. The title  presents the word happyness with "y" because the characters lived in a neighbourhood where people can't spell this word right. There are two explanations for that: most of these inhabitants are immigrants and have troubles with the language and secondly, and most important, they don't know what happiness means, because their life is hard and they have to struggle everyday in order to survive.

The film isn´t gloomy though. It is a very touching, moving and optimistic movie that encourages every human being to pursuit an inaliable right, which is written in the United States Declaration of Independence.

To attain this right, having a good job is essential in the character's life: Chris Gardner.

Based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner. Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a "Bone Density scanner". He feels like he has made these devices. However, they do not sell as they are marginally better than the current technology at a much higher price. As Gardner tries to figure out how to sell them, his wife leaves him, he loses his house, his bank account, and credit cards. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner is now desperate to find a steady job; he takes on a job as a stockbroker, but before he can receive pay, he needs to go through 6 months of training, and to sell his devices.

Find more at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/

Data:

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film, directed by Gabriele Muccino and based on the true story of Chris Gardner. The film stars Will Smith as Gardner, an on-and-off-homeless salesman-turned stockbroker. Starring Will Smith, nominee for several awards, Jaden Smith (Will Smith's real son - winner of MTV Movie Award for Best Male Breakthrough Performance, PFCS Award for Best Performance by Youth in a Leading or Supporting Role - Male - Thandie Newton, Brian Howe and Dan Castellaneta, this movie won the following awards:

• Capri Award for Movie of The Year (winner)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture

TRIVIA

The man seen walking across the street at the end of the movie while Chris and his son are walking away is the real-life Christopher Gardner. You can see Will Smith make a double take back at him.

More information in:
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/thepursuitofhappyness/

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808722062/info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pursuit_of_Happyness

An excellent 2011

Dear pupils and colleagues,

sometimes we are so occupied with so many things that we forget the most important ones. This is a wonderful reminder another teacher has just sent me. Enjoy it and keep it present at all times in your life.

Have an excelent 2011!

Ana Paula

New Year

New Year's Eve or Old Year's Night is observed on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year, the day before New Year's Day. New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day.

 

New Year's Eve is celebrated universally December 31 according to the year numbering of the CE (Common Era), or AD (Anno Domini) convention, even in non-Christian nations. Traditional and religious celebrations for e.g. the Muslim and Jewish new year, which occur on different dates, are still celebrated separately in the cultures that observe them, on the appropriate dates each year.

In modern practice, fireworks, music, alcoholic beverages and other forms of noise making is part of the New Year's Eve celebration. New Year's Eve is celebrated with parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_Eve

Now enjoy the lyrics and the music of one of the most important bands of the last century.

New Year's Day by U2

Yeah...

All is quiet on New Year's Day

A world in white gets underway

I want to be with you

Be with you night and day

Nothing changes on New Year's Day

On New Year's Day

I will be with you again

I will be with you again

Under a blood red sky

A crowd has gathered in black and white

Arms entwined, the chosen few

The newspapers says, says

Say it's true it's true...

And we can break through

Though torn in two

We can be one

I...I will begin again

I...I will begin again

 

Oh...

Maybe the time is right

Oh...maybe tonight...

I will be with you again

I will be with you again

And so we're told this is the golden age

And gold is the reason for the wars we wage

Though I want to be with you

Be with you night and day

Nothing changes

On New Year's Day

 

 

To all my pupils and colleagues a Happy New Year!!!

Ana Paula

New Year´s Resolutions

Hi there!

In spite of being on Christmas holidays, I'd like to share some ideas with you all about New Year's  Resolutions.

At the end of each year we all tend to formulate some New Year's resolutions we intend to follow. The top ten resolutions use to be:

1- spend more time with the family and friends;
2- get fit and practise more exercice;
3- loose weight and get into shape;
4- quit smoking;
5- enjoy life more;
6- quit drinking;
7- get out of debt;
8- learn something new;
9- help others;
10- get organized.

From this list, women find resolution number 3 the most difficult one. Here is a funny video explaining why. Enjoy yourself!

Santa Claus is coming to town

The following letter was sent to the editor of 'The New York Sun' and was written by an 8 year old Virginia O'Hanlon. It was first printed in 1897.The correspondence has now become part of Santa Claus folklore. I've included only excerpts of the response, which is somehow long.

“Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus!“

We take pleasure in answering the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun:

Dear Editor

I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?

And the response:

Virginia O'Hanlon

Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except in what they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. (...)

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! (...)

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies. You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. (...)

 Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives and lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood."

Wishing you and all your family a very happy Christmas with this inspiring letter!

P.S.: A very Happy and Loving Christmas is what your English teacher desires to you all and your families.

Advertising: ads from my pupils

Dear readers/viewers,

today I'm going to post some ads which were built by my pupils from 12th grade, professional course of Clinical Analysis. We were discussing and analysing the theme The Young People and the Consumer World and I suggested that they should built they own personal ads, integrating the items that they had learnt in classes. Their ads should contain a brand, trademark, logo, slogan, a small text and a suggestive picture. Here are the results. Enjoy the final product as much as they had enjoyed it in the process of their making.

Ana Paula Amaro