A Job

Good afternoon Blogheads!
Today I'd like you to write about a job you'd like to do. Actually, I'd done a lot of jobs in my time. When I was a young boy I did several part time jobs. I did a paper round, then I worked in a Butcher's shop cleaning dirty refrigerators and finally I worked in a Clothes' Shop selling jeans. My first full-time job was as a Laboratory Assistant and 3-months later I was promoted to Laboratory Technician (Wow!!). Since then I've worked running a rehearsal studio, as a photographer, a photographer's assistant, a DJ, a lorry driver's assistant, a waiter, a musician, a warehouse technician, a barman, a Language Learning Centre assistant, a Course Director, a summer school teacher, a High School teacher, an examiner and no doubt some other things that I can't remember at the moment. However, I think the job I would like to do most is to be a free-lance music producer. I love to work with music and creating new things in the studio would be a great way to spend my time, especially if I was getting paid for it. I think the main quality you need for this job is to have a good ear for music. However, you also need to hear what isn't there, as well as being able to imagine how a song or piece of music would sound with different arrangements.
There are many producers that I admire, Norman Whitfield, Curtis Mayfield, Brian Eno and David Bowie are just a few I could mention. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to work in a professional studio with me being in charge although I have recorded independently in smaller studios (or using non-professional equipment). Currently I'm learning to use a music software called Ableton Live so maybe I'll get the chance to produce something after all!!!

Write about a job you would like to do.
Say:
What job it is,
Why you like this job,
What qualities you need to do this job well,
Why you think you would be good at this job,
Which person who does this job is your inspiration.

Write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

A TV programme you watched as a child

Hi there Bloggers!

Today I'd like to tell you about a TV programme I watched as a child. The show I'm going to write about is called Dr Who. I started watching it as a child from about age 8 years old. It is about a person who travels through time and who has different adventures in different parts of the universe or at different points in Earth's history. The Dr (or The Doctor) travels in a spaceship that has the appearance of an old Police phone box. It's called the Tardis and although it looks small it's actually bigger on the inside. When I was a child the show used to be broadcast on Saturday at 6pm. The Dr fought against many enemies, the most notorious being the Darleks (pictured below). I remember that I used to spend half of the show hiding behind the sofa because I found it so scary. The series ran from 1963 until 1989. It was revived again in 2005 and there have been 11 new series since that date. The show had lots of followers and it had a very recognisable theme tune. Many artists have recorded versions of the theme tune. A song called "Doctorin the Tardis" by The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu which featured a sample of the tune reached Nº1 in the British singles chart in 1988. As well as being a great series, the show is a big part of British culture.

Write about a TV programme you enjoyed watching when you were a child:

Say:

What it was called,

What it was about,

When it was on,

Why you enjoyed it.

Mention anything else you think is important. Write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

A Holiday

I think I've been very lucky went it comes to holidays and travelling. One amazing holiday I had was in Turkey in 2014. I went with my wife (of course) and we met up with a British friend (Miles) and his boyfriend Berkay who is Turkish. Miles lives in Istanbul but we met in Istanbul airport (my wife and I travelled from London) and flew to Cappadocia which is an amazing region in the centre of Turkey. We spent 4 days there and it was really wonderful. Our hotel was great. We had a great room with underfloor heating and a wonderful view. Capaddocia is well known for its beautiful landscapes and it has cave type houses built into the rocks that are hundreds of years old. We spent most of our time walking and talking photographs. We also ate really well and it was quite cheap to eat and get around to see the interesting places. It was winter but we had sunny days with cold nights (below zero). I think we were lucky because we had a Turkish speaker with us. The Turkish love to barter (regatear) and Berkay got us all the best prices. If you have lots of money you can go up in a balloon to view the area from above. However, it cost about 100USD per person so we didn't do it.I would love to visit this region again. The landscape was a bit like parts of San Pedro de Atacama but the way humans have interacted with the landscape over the centuries is very different. I think all FAU students would enjoy visiting this place.
Write about a holiday you remember.

Say:
Where you went,
Who you went with,
How long you went for,
What you did,
What you enjoyed most about the holiday.

Mention anything else you think is interesting. Write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on my blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.

A Hobby

Hi Blogheads,

Today I'd like you to write about something you enjoy doing in your free time. I guess my favourite hobby is making music and home-made videos. I've been making music since I was about 12 or 13 years old when I started to play guitar.  I added the video making in the last 10 years or so. Everything I do is self-taught and I don't have a strong background in music but I have lots of fun creating songs or pieces of music. Most of the music I do nowadays is electronic. I use a program called Ableton Live which is an amazing piece of software as it allows me to make music using nothing more than my PC keyboard. I can also record other instruments and vocals so it's basically turning my PC into a recording studio. I've been trying to record music for a long time so I've picked up some recording tips along the way. I think I generally manage to get a good mix. I don't think I have a particular sound as I tend to record different styles, often mixing acoustic and electronic instruments. I like House music and that may come across in some of the more chilled-vibes. Occasionally I sing.
The video making I do is very experimental and I often mix time-lapse video and stuff I've recorded on my phone or camera. Sometimes I use found footage. I like treating images and saturating them to create something new. I use iMovie as it's very easy to use (and it came free with my computer). I usually spend 5 or 6 hours a week doing this hobby. I'll like to do it more often but there are always so many other things to do (like writing my blog!!).

Write about something you do in your free time.
Say:
What it is,
How long you have done it,
What it involves,
Where you do it,
What equipment you need,
How often you do it.

Try to write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on your teacher's blog and the blogs of at least 3 classmates.

A City

Hi Blogheads:

A city I'd like to visit is Berlin. I guess I've been lucky because I've already had the chance to visit amazing cities like Tokyo, Paris, Barcelona, Venice, New York, Istanbul and Edinburgh (to name a few!!). However, although I've visited cities in the South of Germany like Munich, I've never been to Berlin. I don't really know that much about the city. David Bowie lived there with Iggy Pop and Brian Eno during the 70s. The architecture is said to be magnificent and, of course, the city is home to the Love Parade - Europe's wildest gay festival.
I think it will be interesting to see the remains of the wall, an event I experienced live on Television. Like all big cities, there are no doubt tourist sights to see and museums that you should visit. I think I'd just like to wander around and see what I find. I think Berlin must be a big living museum, a historical place. I would definitely do the David Bowie tour. You can check it out here: https://musictours-berlin.com/bowie-berlin-walk
Obviously, I'd like to go with my wife, She speaks some German so she'd have to do all the talking. All I can do is order a coffee or a beer and count to ten:)
You can see some clips of Berlin in this Bowie video from 2014:

Write about a city you would like to visit.
Say:
Why you'd like to visit it,
What you know about the city,
What you would do there,
Who you would go with and why.

Write at least 150 words. Leave a comment on your teacher's blog and on the blogs of 3 classmates.