About love, pets and friendship

Man's best friend

People say that dogs are man's best friend... In my case, however, my first memory goes back to a small green parrot, Enicognathus ferrugineus, that is usually found in the south of Chile. This Austral parakeet lived free in my house, walked around all the rooms, fed on my mum's hands and had a sharp voice that was heard from distant places. The longer wings had been cut so that it couldn't fly away. By then, I was in primary school and I remember as it were yesterday when my little friend combed my hair, eyelashes and eyebrows to wake me up on weekends.

It also used to walk on my shoulders and observed enthusiastically how I did my homework. One day, at lunch, it was on my mum's shoulders observing with distant interest the conversation of my family and friends, so I decided to bother it by touching its long tail; it moved towards me, protesting for such an uncomfortable situation; I did it again and again a little time later ... it moved restlessly, was really upset and protested by using its powerful voice... I was told not to bother again, so I focussed my attention on my dish. My little friend looked at me peacefully, showing sympathy... then it quietly walked from my mum's shoulders to mine in a clear demonstration of affection..., all of a sudden, it gave a bite on my face and ran away....my little friend gave emphasis to the lesson "do not do to others what you do not want done to yourself".

Time passed and when my kids were adolescents, I looked for a parrot to satisfy the need for a pet. Another small green parrot of the same kind became part of our family, a friend of all. I felt it had a special connection with me; it reminded me my first friend, the same kind, color, mood. I used to whistle when I walked back home, and this little friend heard me and used its sharp voice to announce my presence. In sunny days, my family enjoyed watching it having a bath under the sun....

Many years passed till one afternoon, when I had just come back from work, I was told that our little friend was feeling ill. I gently put it on one hand, it opened the eyes, moved its head and passed away.... My little friend, Polo, had waited to say goodbye.

The love you feel for your pets is greatly corresponded by them, and sometimes they are better friends than you are. These videos are a great demonstration of love for the other.

Hippo trying to help impala

Remember to take care of your pets!

Now is your turn:

Tell me about you favourite pet(s)
What its(their) name is(are)
Since when you have it(them)
Why you love your pet(s)

Upload a photograph if possible
Minimun length: 160 words

The story of my favourite photograph

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still" 

Dorothea Lange, American documentary photographer

I have warm memories of public squares, urban parks and other areas of recreation where people gathered to listen to a band of musicians, children played tag, serious men read newspapers, young people met and flirted, dogs ran after running kids holding colorful ballons, ...  

"Magician"

As a child, I looked with admiration at the smiling man who worked miracles using a "magical" device that called the attention of the people around; I was intrigued to know how this apparently ordinary man was able to take images of kids, couples in love, tourists, families. This "magician" used a big camera on a tripod and, after a short ceremony to arrange people in the "adequate" position, he pressed a mysterious button while a big flash emitted light on the subjects, causing surprise in the spectators. Then, he introduced his hand into the camera cloth hood, moved his hand within the camera and extracted the precious material: a black-and-white image on paper. 

Technological advance has led those photographers to almost extinction... photographic cameras have become smaller, cheaper and within the reach of everyone... But the transition to modern digital cameras was not easy at all...   

Non-professional, economic old cameras needed an external flash that was inserted into the camera: this "magic cube" had four bulbs that permitted to have light for four photographs; thus, if you were in an important ceremony, you needed 9 magic flashes to have light for 36 photographs... and you also needed to buy a roll film for 36 photographs and insert it in the camera. Later, the roll films had to be taken to places where the photographs would be developed.  

SRL camera (TTL=Through The Lens)

In time, Single-Reflex Lens (SRL) cameras became cheaper... this led me to reading on photography and, as young adult, I learned, in a workshop, how to take and develop photographs in a laboratory. In short, you first removed the roll film from the camera in a dark room and treated it with chemicals; then, you let a beam of light pass through each frame of the photographic film for a few seconds: the light would leave an "invisible" image on a sensitive photographic paper; then, you placed this paper into a developer fluid until an image--the photograph--were visible to your eyes; next, you removed the photograph from the fluid and immersed it into another fluid to fix the image on paper; finally, you removed the photograph, washed it  and allowed it to dry... the magic was there: a beautiful photograph of your own.

My curious friend...

Many years ago, I was trying to capture a still life early in the morning, when a wandering dog came to me, with a curious look, trying to understand the magic of the camera I held in my hands...I took some pictures while it stared at me... waiting for the magic to come, but magic did not come; I felt its disappointment when it turned and went away.  I never saw it again; however, it is present in my album of photos where the magic of its look prevails...

Nowadays, digital cameras allow to have hundreds of photographs, have automatic built-in flash , no paper nor roll film is required; yet, some people say they are in danger of disappearing with the appearance of smartphones and other devices of common use. 

While technology advances, I can imagine the wandering dog saying "it's my image in your mind that matters... the rest is just technology..."   

Now it´s your turn:

Write about a photograph you like and say

Who took it

What it shows

When it was taken

Why you like it

Upload it too

Include any other information you'd like to mention.

Minimum number of words: 150

My favourite book OR film

"Books and movies are like apples and oranges. They both are fruit, 

but taste completely different." - Stephen King

Books are a pleasure that good readers enjoy. They lead you through mysteries, such as Agatha Christie's detective stories or Dan Brown's plots, to scientific, philosophical, historical, romantic issues in an endless number of genres written both in formal and informal language, fiction and non-fiction. 

When I was about ten, my father gave me a book to read it carefully, as it contained "messages that I would cherish all my life long". He was not fond of reading, but that book had meant a lot to him and wanted to transfer his feelings to me.

I enjoyed reading it! The book written by Edmondo de Amicis, “Cuore”, the Italian term for "Heart", tells us about  Enrico—the main character—who is a nine-year-old boy, who writes about his life at school, his friends and not so much friends, their families, his teachers ... The novel covers one year of Enrico´s life at school narrated in the form of a diary; each classmate´s life develops and grows in your mind and you end up by feeling love and understanding for them. As Enrico’s classmates, you also waited eagerly for reading the story of the month; these remarkable “monthly stories” were short stories full of sensitivity, braveness, endurance, warmth and genuine love—one of such stories was “From the Apennines to the Andes”….

As a teenager, I developed a liking for watching films in those attractive buildings with a superb architecture, similar to opera houses, where you could enjoy watching both the surroundings and the films and everyone would be quiet and respectful... no popcorn existed… Technicolor and Cinerama brought elegance and modernity, and super-productions became common. Ben-Hur, The Sound of Music, Star Wars and E.T The extraterrestrial were invested with the stateliness of the theatres.

Elegance of  the Grand Rex movie theater in Paris

Although technological advances have made possible to give life on screen to Tolkien's fantastic world, The Lord of the Rings; and Crichton's Jurassic Park;  I'd have liked to have watched them in the magnificent buildings of the past century without the sound of popcorn around me.

I enjoy watching films, so naming my favourite one is hard to anyone, especially me. Big Fish, As Good as it gets, The lord of the rings, Sense and Sensibility, Skyfall, La la Land, Rainman, The Cyder House Rules, Faceoff, Dead Poet's Society ... are just a few of films that come to my mind...

Yet, there is a film that I think everyone should watch to live and learn. We often hear that books are far better than films. A long time ago a watched a film named "The Shawshank Redemption", a beautiful story of a man accused of murdering his wife and how he faced his life in prison; it has an extraordinary ending. Great casting, well-structured film.

I looked for the book and I realized that it was a rather short  (about 50 pages long) story written by Stephen King. The author and the director of the film worked together; the film was nominated to several Oscar awards, but won none. To the critics' surprise, the video was a complete success and today is considered a real masterpiece...! And I must say that the film was to me better than the novel; the music, the location, the casting and the direction contributed to the enrichment of a solid story.

Now, it is your turn

Tell me what your favourite film OR book is
What makes it attractive
When  you read/watched it
Why you recommend it
Minumum length : 150 words.
Remember to make comments on 3 of your classmates' posts and also the teacher's