About Eduardo's blog

Ok, I’m going to critique Eduardo’s blog. I hope that he will not be angry with me after this, but I’m going to try to be sincere and not too aggressive (even when Eduardo is in my black list, and he knows why).


Well, I'm going to start with the design. I think that the blog’s design is not so bad, but it is a little bit boring. Maybe if he added some colourful elements or, I don’t know, maybe some images, then the blog would appear to be more interesting.


About the posts, I’m wonder why the first post doesn’t have a title... But Eduardo has told me that he isn’t very “technologycal” and I understand him. As I can see, he has been progressing through the week and the last post was very interesting. I had read all Eduardo’s posts and, in general, I like the way he writes. Moreover, I think that his posts have a really nice prose and are very funny to read. The way he expreses himself seems to be right for a blog, and that's important: not everyone can write in a proper and orderly manner.


My favourite post is the last one: Las Meninas. And that choice is not only because I like the painting but it's the most interesting and well done of all the posts and because in it we can read more about what he likes and how he feels. It's cheesy to say but maybe the best part of reading someone's prose is to know what he thinks about art, music and all that stuff.

(If you want to read Eduardo's blog, click here http://mendelenglish.blogspot.com/ You will not regret it)

"The Pearl of the Merchant"

"The pearl of the merchant" ("La perla del mercader", in spanish) is a painting by the Chilean artist Alfredo Valenzuela Puelma and it's on display at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Chile. He was born in Valparaíso in 1856 and died in Villejuif, France in 1909. He representes the climax of the Chilean formal painting. Valenzuela Puelma's themes are especially the human figure and portrait, and this painting is one of his masterpieces. He belongs to the so-called "Group of Four Masters," along with Pedro Lira, Juan Francisco Gonzalez and Alberto Valenzuela Llanos.

The first time I saw it was like 5 years ago, when I went to the museum with a very special person who was nothing more than a friend at that moment. We had already gone the museum before, but that time was special in some way. We fell in love with the painting at the first time we saw it because of its beauty and its meaning. I don't know how to explain this but, in some way, this painting is way more than just a man and a naked girl. It seems to be like a story of "A thousand and one nights", but painted by a Chilean artist. If you look closer, you can see that the girl is painted beautifully, much more than the merchant. And even when you are not trying to look at the girl, it's imposible not to see her. She is painted like she wasn't real, and that makes her so mysterious.

So you want to work in ...... Forensics

This article from Guardian’s website and written by Liz Ford, is about the real forensic science, not the one we see on television programmes like CSI, Waking the Dead and Crossing Jordan. She interviews three people: an employer (Dr. Roger King), an university student (Robin Hoole) and a graduate (Tim Ives), who tell us about their view of the forensic field.

As Dr. King states, the real forensic field is full of specialists in chemistry, biology and anthropology, unlike what you see on TV shows, where everybody knows about everything. Moreover, the cases are not solved in 45 minutes; it takes weeks and even months to get the crucial evidence.

So it’s important to understand that what we see on Tv is not the real life: the scientists are not so glamorous and do not pursue glamour at all. The thing is that if you want to work in Forensics you have to know that it's a totally different world: you will need "attention to detail, perseverance, flexibility and discretion", as Dr. King says. As you can see, the real scientific work is full of study, hard work and it can even be a painstaking process, but if is what you love, it will be a source of satisfaction. And do not forget: Tv is only Tv.

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Personally, I think that the article is giving us a practical and very truthful image of what the forensic field really is. When we see these TV shows, we think that it's so glamorous and sexy, but in real life that is only a lie. People must know that the things that they see on television aren't always true and this article helps with that.

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If you are interesting in reading the article, here is the adress:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2007/may/12/graduates.careers