Tim Burton’s Vincent

This is the first short animation made by Tim Burton in 1982. It is about a seven year old, Vincent Malloy, who acts as if he were in one of Edgar Allan Poe’s poems. The story is narrated by a low voice that tells us about Vincent’s peculiar perspective of life in a very poetic and gothic way. We also read another poem by Tim Burton that has the same very gothic style and tried to compare the video with the poem.

In general, we thought it was a great animation, here are some of the opinions we’ve got in the group. They vary from comments about the form of the video and its content.

 We thought that it was funny how the writer used a combination of really easy words to describe so perfectly such strange world as the one Vincent lives in. The narrator’s voice is very nice; the background music follows the actions in the video and goes very nicely with the settings shown in the film. The images that appear take the mind of the viewer to the world of the character and especially to his mind that, as we can see from the comparison between the video and the poem, is very closely related to the writer’s mind.

“Dark thoughts can be very bad for society, but this video is a perfect combination of good and evil that gives the possibility to distinguish between this two and by doing this, we can define our dream, personality and spirituality better”. Humans are born with some innate darkness; evil is experienced by everyone as everyone needs to know the pure and beautiful parts of life as well as the repulsive ones, this is necessary because by experiencing this we can learn to distinguish between good and evil. The way I see it, this animation brings us some light and shows how free we can always be in our mind”

It is interesting how we can see the beginning of Tim Burton’s style in this animation. We can see features of this style all over the film: The strong contrast of black and white, curved figures and sad or melancholic eyes, diagonals in the composition of paintings and twisted curves with macabre aspects. All this elements were developed later in Burton’s films like Beetlejiuce and The Nightmare before Christmas.

We can also observe Tim Burton’s graphic influences. The shadow contrasts bring the Dutch masters like Rembrandt to memory, as well as the Art Nouveau with artists like Beardsley. Additional to this, we can remember Burton’s work at Disney where he would get the plastic means necessary to later develop his unique style.

In terms of content we can see a relationship between Vincent Malloy and Vincent Price, we could think that he was a childhood hero for Tim Burton, as he places him in this animation as the hidden identity of Vincent Malloy and in fact, it is this American horror film actor who narrates Vincent’s story. We can also relate the story to Edgar Allan Poe’s poems; we can see the mood of both is very similar, all dark and gloomy. Finally it is important to highlight the role of this short film for the strong consolidation of what is now the animated short film scene, as well as its role in the explosion of one of the most important themes of contemporary art, the schizo.

THIS THURSDAY MUSIC, DANCE AND POETRY MADE FOR WOMEN IN THE GILBERTO ALZARE AVENDAÑO FOUNDATION,

SPECIAL GUESTS: ETNA ARCILA, LUCIA ORJUELA  and MARIA ISABEL GARCIA

April 28th

Hour: 5:30 pm  

Place: Gilberto Alzare Avendaño Foundation- Calle 10 # 3-16

Pbx: 2829491

Free entry

Since march 2005, the last Thursday of each month, the colombian artist women have been taken the stage "El Muelle" of The Gilberto Alzate Avendaño Foundation with intimate concerts y ever full of sincere emotion. This music and poetry event, that evokes the traditional format of outdoor Parisian café, has convened thousands of followers of talent and creativity of  women songwriters, performers, new artists, poets and writers

INTERNET-BASED ATTACKS ON CRITICAL SYSTEMS RISE

It’s very important to know that, with the pass of the time, the globalization process and the technological development, the Network Security becomes more complex, expensive and necessary for the industries.

As stated in article, there are many companies of public services has been victims of cyber crimes which is detrimental to the security of countries.

In a survey conducted by McAfee, it showed that more than half of companies surveyed have been victims of robberies and crimes of hackers, shows that despite the large software development industry, it is also necessary to create platforms for network security.

In developed countries, as well as the development level is high, it also has an increase of people who have specialized programs to steal valuable corporate information…

For example the article mentions that countries like China, Russia are “the most likely source of attacks”.

The problem with successive attacks is that industries say the hackers who steal information and enter business programs, want to disrupt energy supplies within the next two years. This would be very harmful for countries, because services as water would be “stolen” by hackers. Apparently these are just speculations experts say, but it could be likely, that with the pace of development in the network, this kind of things can happen.

The Stuxnet worm is an internet-bourne that threat to disrupting an industrial system, which was discovered in 2010.Analysis suggests that the malicious computer code was designed to take control of machinery in either Iran's Bushehr or Natanz nuclear facilities.

Among those utility companies that had carried out a search for Stuxnet on their computer systems, 40% found traces of it. The fact that it spread so widely is very troubling especially if it is about cyber attacks or extortion attempts.

Government help

According to survey, the countries that receive higher helps from their governments on tackling cyber security issues are Japan, China and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom scored lowest of all those taking part in the study. A Cabinet Office spokesman told the BBC that the situation had improved dramatically since the launch of its National Security Strategy in October 2010.

  

Taken from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13122339

True Grit

True Grit is a movie that tells the history of Mattie Ross a 14 years old girl, who is seeking revenge for the death of her father. Mattie begins a great adventure by USA looking for Tom Chaney, who stole and killed her father and then ran away. 

The authorities didn´t seek to Chaney because he was in other territory, but Mattie was determined to bring him back and he was sentenced for her father murder, whereby, she got money to contract a police boss called Roster Cogburn who has fame to be the most ruthless and determined marshal on the town, he was able to track any fugitive. 

Although Cogburn doesn´t believe that Mattie can afford for the job and he rejects her offer. After he is forced by the girl to accept the job, but he will have to take her with him, and though he tries to leave her behind, Mattie reaches and convinces him that travel is for her too.

Chaney is also searched by a ranger called Labeout for the murder of a senator, so the ranger wants to take him to Texas and there collect a big reward. Labeout tries to ally with Cogburn but Mattie doesn´t allow it because she isn’t willing to leave that Chaney be sentenced in a different state and for a different crime that the murder of her father. 

During the travel, they will have to pass for a lot of difficulties, Labeout was hurt in a shoulder and Cogburn spends much time drunk, so both loss hope of catching Chaney until Mattie finds and confronts him face to face, then she shoots him but she fails to kill him.
 

Mattie ends up being kidnapped for a new criminal group in which Chaney was involved, so Cogburn and Labeout chase them and after they kill the criminals, Mattie could avenge the death of her father shooting Chaney herself, although she lost an arm by a snake bite.

Text about some aspects of the way of talking in some characters of the film "True Grit"

In the movie “true grit” we can identify some important elements about the expressions of English language, which belongs to some regions in U.S.A. To start, characters have some particular accents, but all of them have similar aspects of the way for express ideas.  For example into the scene of judgment, one of lawyers speaks with slight accent where some words sounds with an emphasis but only in some parts of this words. He says: “Mr cogborn. In your four years as U.S Marshall, how many men have you shot?” When the lawyer says “shot” there is a clear emphasis on that word and a clear emphasis the sounds of the phrase like it would have changed the tone of the conversation. In other words, he talks with a constant pronunciation but there are changes that produce diferents variations; in this case, the word “shot” it had been the variation of tone.

It is an example of one character with a very exaggerated form to talk the English language. But if we compare characters like Mr Cogborn and mr Labeouf, we could identify differences of the language. In the movie’s story, Mr labeouf was an “texas ranger” with some prestige; if we listened the way like he talks we would recognized a pronunciation with less musicality; however, he keeps a similar accent like all characters, that wich correspond on the period of time (time period) where(when) story develops.  For example in the minute 24 of the movie, Mr Labeouf said to the girl: “she said if you can ride on home.” But he says the phrase with a pronunciation (yo creeria que no es pronunciacion exactamente porque eso es un termino global, tal vez lo que usted quiera decir es cadencia) that extends some parts, cut some other and paste the words. In that case phrase’s structure we could understand like this: “she saif you can rideroonn hoome”. We can see the normal use of language with a clear pronunciation; however Mr labeouf has an accent more sofisticated and more clear than other characters. I think that difference can play a role of the character, that describes their social class and where their come from.  

In the case of Mr cogborn, he has the same singularities in the way of talking than Mr Lebouf and the lawyer (to extend, cut and combine words) but the difference is that he talks more quick and he never open his lips to much. Instead Mr cogborn said more phrases combined and harder to understand than the other characters. I think Mr Cogborn opposite to the lawyer and Mr Labeouf, Speaks with this characteristic not only because he have lived in a certain part of north america (Arkansas); but because the conditions of age of Mr Cogborn are totally diferents, and if we listened with carefully his way of talking we could identify the personality of the character. Like I said, Mr cogborn is an old man, and he speaks with more self-confidence; he was an old man, that allows having more confidence that other characters.

The three characters that I have chosen to describe in the text allow to understand some general aspects of the English language in the XIX in USA (the region of Arkansas). The first idea that I can extract of the analysis is that all the pronunciations of the characters have accent that produce variations not only in the sound of the words, but produce a disort of phrases. The description of Lawyer’s way of talking is an example to understand the changes in the language in the variations of tone of some words; the description of Mr Labeouf allows to recognize other aspects that appears in the pronunciations, like the transformation of the structure of the phrases; and the description of the Mr Cogborn´s way of talking explain that the pronunciation can describe a characteristics of a person, of his personality.

The movie has many characters that use the type of pronunciation of the English language with all the variations on the tone and with clear changes of the expressions. It is no doubt that today in North America, in some regions like Texas still that type of pronunciation in the English language. However now days, we could say that it is less frequent to identify the exaggeration that we listen in the way of talking of the people who lived in North America in the XIX Century. 

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IMPULSES 2011

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL IMPULSES 2011

DANCE AND BODY TODAY

CATALONIA, GUEST OF HONOR

Date:  Since april 28^th to  may 8^th

Place:Teatro Nacional La Castellana, Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santodomingo, Teatro Leonardus, Casa del Teatro Nacional, Teatro Varasanta y Teatro Estudio. .

Rate: Since 22.000 pesos  to  $85.000 pesos

More info in: www.teatronacional.com.co

Organized by the National Theatre and the Foundation L'Explose, there comes the International Festival of Contemporary Dance: IMPULSES 2011. 21 companies of 7 countries will show the boldest, innovator and avant-gardist of the performance, the dance, the dance - theatre and the video-dance that today is danced in the world. There will be 11 days where big international choreographers like the French-algerian who lives in Germany Samir Akika, the Spanish performer Sonia Gómez, the Canadian Marie Chouinard and the French Andréa Sitter, between others, will alternate with the colombian riskiest dancers and creators. Six of Bogota rooms will receive this vibrant programming that also includes workshops, conferences, classes, meetings with directors and other attractions of this meeting, which comes this way to his second version, and promises to be repeated and to be extended up until it turns into one of the big world appointments of the contemporary dance.

Erre que erre is a group of creators resided in Barcelona and active since 1996. In 2009 they created "Avatar", with which the group penetrates into the territory of the interactivity between designed image to the computer and body in live."Avatar" is the result of the collaboration between the choreographer and ballerina Mariangeles Angulo and the visual artist Roman Torre.

"Avatar" is a very innovative and visual proposal, and of great refinement in the investigation of the interaction of a body in movement over a virtual and interactive space. Along the spectacle, the ballerina faces situations and spaces with which she interacts and takes her decisions of process. "Avatar" has as interpretive - conceptual premise, the fact of representing and playing in scene with our own avatar, which is the virtual representation of ourselves. "Avatar" is an interactive dance solo, in which the interpreter is in constant dialog with the software, responsible of the different narrative preprogrammed events; they react on the basis of the displacements, attitudes and gestures, by means of the projection and detection of the camera, that sends the signals of position to the computer, in charge of processing the information and re-sending to the scenic space in real time.