10/17/2007

Los Angeles



Los Angeles is the second greater city of United States of America. Is also the most important, and large city of California State. The city of Los Angeles has about 3957875 people. With approximately 13 million people in its metropolitan region.

Founded by the Spanish people in 1781, as the Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Angeles sobre Río Porciuncula. Los Angeles is the seat of the county of Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States, with a total of 10179716 people. They are 88 cities, all part of the metropolitan area of Los Angeles, of which 10 have more than 100,000 inhabitants.

10/14/2007


New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States of America. With 62 countries, it is the country's third most populous state. New York was inhabited by Algonquian, Iroquois, and Lenape indigenous people at the time Dutch and French nationals moved into the region in the very early 17th century.
It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and shares a water border with Rhode Island as well as an international border with the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario. Its five largest cities are New York City (also the largest city in the United States), Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse.
New York City is known for its history as a gateway for immigration to the United States and its status as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing center.
New York first claimed by Henry Hudson in 1609; the region came to have Dutch forts in Fort Orange, near the site of the present-day capital of Albany in 1614 and was colonized by the Dutch in 1624, at both Albany and Manhattan; it later fell to British annexation in 1664. About one third of all of the battles of the Revolutionary War took place in New York. The state ratified the United States Constitution in 1788, the 11th state to do so; its own constitution was enacted in 1777. New York City and its six suburban countries have a combined population of 12,626,200 people, or 65.67% of the state's population. Catholics comprise more than 40% of the population in New York. Protestants are 30% of the population, Jews 5%, Muslims 3.5%, Buddhists 1%, and 13% claim no religious affiliation.

Oprah Winfrey - a great Women


Borned on 29th January 1954, she had a bad chilwood and was molested at 9 by her cousin, uncles and a family's friend.
When she moved to live with her father who with stirck rules and discipline turned her education a priority, she was 14.
At 19 Oprah landed her fisrt job as a reporter for a radio station in Nashville. Shortly afterwards, she entered Tenesse State university where she started to be successfull.
In 1976 she hosted a TV show called People Are Talking and the program had so success that she stayed for eight years.
After host her own mornig show, A.M.Chicago, she was nominated to an Academy Award for her performance in The Colour Purple in 1985. One year later Oprah started the Oprah Winfrey Show which is still on air.



. Laura and Rita

Tree lost generations - The Rabbit Proof Fence


Prejudice, broken families, pain, love and lost identities are the concepts of Rabbit Proof Fence.
This is a movie based on a true story and could make us thought about the Australian Indegenous' History. They were punished for being themselves and without a plausible reason many half-caste children were taken from their families.
The film is reliable to the story of Moly Craig, a child who had made 150 miles with her little sister Gracie and her cousin Daily trying to come back home.
It's a great film about their reality and what a racist civilization can do with another one.


.Laura and Rita

Rabbit proof fence


The story of this film happens in Australia.
This film is based on the true story of 3 half cast girls (2 sisters and 1 cousin) who are separated from their families against their will by the order of the Australian government, and taken to a strange place. There, they are educated to be domestics in a white family house.
By Molly’s (Molly is the older of the 3 girls) initiative the 3 girls will run away and walk a very long way to their home, in Jigalong. While on their way, they’ll find several obstacles that they’ll have to get across. One of them will be the capture of Gracie (the cousin), wich will affect their cousins so bad that they’ll be almost giving up because of that.
At the end the 2 sisters finally reach to Jigalong safe and sound and they can hug their mom and family again. But this half cast persecution would last for many years. A few years later Molly’s daughters would be captured by the Australians. This film is called “The rabbit proof fence” because it’s this fence that will direct the girls home.
Sílvia&Carla.
2007

Hollywood


Hollywood is a district in Los Angeles (L.A.), California, the U.S.A. The population of this district is 167664 people.
As a portion of the city of L.A., Hollywood does not have its own government, but has a non-elected honorary mayor for ceremonial purposes.
Hollywood is remarkable for the concentration of many movie studios and for the huge variety of companies connected to cinematographic industry (such as editing, effects, post-production and lighting companies).
It is a very popular destination for nightlife, tourism and is also well-known because of the Walk of Fame.

Ana Margarida and Inês

4th July



In the U.S.A., on the 4th of July, it is comemorated the Independence Day since 1777, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence, were the North American colonies claimed independence from the Great Britain.
This special day is celebrated with huge firework shows (accompanied by patriotic songs), picnics, parades, barbecues and several baseball games, among other events, were families celebrate the American traditions, government and history.




By Eduardo Dutra and Marta Madureira

10/13/2007

Koala


The koala is an animal that lives in Australia.
Koalas live averagely fourteen years. They search for food in eucalyptus, their election tree. They also spend fourteen hours a day sleeping and the rest of time eating.
When the English colognes started to go to Australia, koalas started to be chased by stealthy hunters who want to kill them and use their skin to produce clothes and all types of wearing.
In our days, the worst risk is fire in the woods that kills lots of animals and burns trees where koalas live. After losing his shelter, koalas will go to the city looking for food and home, but they end up killed by cars or other animals. Because of that, koalas are now in an extinction process.




(trabalho em atraso) Carla e Silvia

Rabbit Proof Fence - our point of view

Rabbit Proof Fence is a film about racial prejudice in Australia, based on true events.
In our opinion, this film is a powerful testimony of the suffering of some half-caste children, who during their lives were obliged to live far away from their families.
Despite all the adversities, the three aboriginal girls never gave up and persistently tried to return home.
After watching this moving film, we learned that the difference must be accepted as well as respected by everybody, in order to prevent more cases of discrimination.
Films like this one warn Men that negative aspects of our History must not be repeated today.

Ana Margarida Falcão e Inês Cosme

The Simpsons


The Simpson’s is an animation American series created by Matt Groening.
The series is famous because it criticizes the human behaviour, the society and american lifestyle. The first episode ever seen on TV was in 1989.
The Simpson’s have a total of 400 episodes and 18 seasons witch makes it the older series in exhibition on the USA.
With an enormous influence in the pop culture, it inspired multiple other animated series, beyond many citations made by writers, musicians and movie and television directors. In 2001, “Doh” by the character Homer Simpson was added to the Oxford English Dictionary.



Carla e Silvia

"Rabit-Proof Fence"

Commentary:

The film “Rabbit-Proof Fence” it’s about three aboriginal girls (Molly, Daisy and Gracie) that were taken away from their families to be introduced in society and forced to live according to the colonizers' rules and habits. Then, the three girls decide to run away and go home. They walked more than 1,5 miles following a rabit-proof fence always persecuted by the colonizers. This film, based in a true story is an exemple of courage and overcoming fears.
During the whole film you admire the girls for it and you get envolved with the expression of their eyes, living the film.
By Eduardo Dutra and Marta Madureira

COMMENTARY
The film “Rabbit Proof Fence” it’s about the aboriginal people in Australia and English colonization. The main story is about three young aboriginal girls (Molly, Daisy and Gracie).
They were taken from their families and their homeland Jigalong in 1931 into Moore River Native Settlement, where they were forced to learn the white people modes, so that they could be introduced in society.
This argument - introducing them into society and teaching them how to live in it until they were old enough to marry with people that were already in society - reflects that, in 20th century, colonizers were trying to make disappear the aboriginal race.
In this film we can watch children been taken from their families, a very immoral and cruel behaviour; we think that no one should be forced to it.




Ruben Oliveira e João Sousa

10/02/2007


Bondi beach

Bondi beach, one of the world’s most well known beaches, is located in the suburbs of Sidney and is about 1 kilometre long.
In the summer season Bondi beach is a cosmopolitan centre for sun, surf and fun because it’s near Sidney. The beach is part of a large moon shaped bay of white sands and has a good sea for surfing.

10/01/2007

Sydney, by João Coutinho

Sydney is in the state of New South Wales and it has a lot of hotels and restaurants near the sea. It has 4.774 million inhabitants. The racial makeup of the city is 95.81% White, 0.10% African American, 1.89% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 1.01% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latinos are 2.43% of the population.

Aborigines in 50 words

The word "aboriginal" means "the first" or "earliest known". Studies show that humans lived in Australia at least twelve thousand years before they appeared in Europe.



Habits/Way of life:
Aborigines were nomadic, they hunted animals and planted vegetables and used the rivers to drink fresh water.



Traditions:
Aborigines had rituals from childhood to death, such as spiritual and physical ceremonies.

Marta Madureira