viernes, 13 de noviembre de 2015

Expressions for Agreeing and Disagreeing


 Stating an opinion
  • In my opinion...
  • The way I see it...
  • If you want my honest opinion....
  • According to Lisa...
  • As far as I'm concerned...
  • If you ask me...
Asking for an opinon
  • What's your idea?
  • What are your thoughts on all of this?
  • How do you feel about that?
  • Do you have anything to say about this?
  • What do you think?
  • Do you agree?
  • Wouldn't you say?
Expressing agreement
  • I agree with you 100 percent.
  • I couldn't agree with you more.
  • That's so true.
  • That's for sure.
  • (slang) Tell me about it!
  • You're absolutely right.
  • Absolutely.
  • That's exactly how I feel.
  • Exactly.
  • I'm afraid I agree with James.
  • I have to side with Dad on this one.
  • No doubt about it.
  • (agree with negative statement) Me neither.
  • (weak) I suppose so./I guess so.
  • You have a point there.
  • I was just going to say that.
Expressing disagreement
  • I don't think so.
  • (strong) No way.
  • I'm afraid I disagree.
  • (strong) I totally disagree.
  • I beg to differ.
  • (strong) I'd say the exact opposite.
  • Not necessarily.
  • That's not always true.
  • That's not always the case.
  • No, I'm not so sure about that.
Interruptions
  • Can I add something here?
  • Is it okay if I jump in for a second?
  • If I might add something...
  • Can I throw my two cents in?
  • Sorry to interrupt, but...
  • (after accidentally interrupting someone) Sorry, go ahead. OR Sorry, you were saying...
  • (after being interrupted) You didn't let me finish.
Settling an argument
  • Let's just move on, shall we?
  • Let's drop it.
  • I think we're going to have to agree to disagree.
  • (sarcastic) Whatever you say./If you say so.
 Info taken from:

The Beauty And Art Of Body Modification


The Beauty And Art Of Body Modification
Info taken from: ladybud

The Beauty And Art Of Body Modification

PHOTO: Kayan girl, Mary Rose Loria
Body modification has existed since the beginning of time in different cultures across the world. Tattoos, nose rings, septum rings, earrings, lip rings, tongue rings, navel rings, gauged piercings and genital piercings span the globe in history and every cultural background in existence.
Kayan women in Myanmar (Burma) and Northern Thailand lengthen their necks with gold coils.
Kayan women in Myanmar (Burma) and Northern Thailand lengthen their necks with gold coils.
Each piercing had specific religious, rite of passage, class structure or adornment meanings. The Greeks, for example, wore earrings shaped like demigods or revered birds that were reserved for nobility. While the Native Americans, Aztecs and Mayans wore gold septum rings for adornment to symbolize wealth and sexual fertility. In Hinduism, women are encouraged to tattoo the middle of their forehead or “Third Eye” to enhance spiritual wellness, beauty and to protect them from evil.
Instead of enhancing their bodies through piercings or tattoos, it was custom in some cultures throughout time to modify their bodies by applying a long-term practice to actually alter their bodies in some way.
Women of the Kayan Tribe use the practice of wearing heavy brass coils around their neck at a very young age. As they grow, more coils are put on their necks compressing their collarbones and upper ribs. This creates a long and slender neck that is considered very beautiful in the Kayan culture.
A Chinese woman's bound foot, reduced to four inches to symbolize wealth and beauty.
A Chinese woman’s bound foot, reduced to four inches to symbolize wealth and beauty.
In Imperial China, both in the upper and lower-class, young girls fell into the custom of foot binding, because men found it highly attractive. A young girl would have her feet placed in a special soak, where she would then receive a foot massage followed by every single toe being manually broken then bound tightly in cloth. The foot would be unwrapped and re-wrapped tighter until her feet reached 4 inches long. It would assure that these women would never have to work, as they would become either a wife to a working man, concubine to a rich man, or married into a wealthy family. But, it would also assure that the women had to remain fully dependent on their male counterpart, and could not leave the house on her own to participate in normal social events.
In some cultures, body modification can be temporary as a means to achieve spiritual enlightenment through the process and the pain received.
In some of the Native American tribes, many would employ piercings that would suspend their bodies in the air during important religious ceremonies. During these religious rituals, men who were seeking spiritual visions had their shoulders or chest pierced by other men who had already experienced the rite in the past. The men being pierced would then be suspended from poles that were either inside or outside the Lodge of their tribe. A trance-like state was obtained from pain where visions would present themselves to the individual seeking specific religious enlightenment.
Some of these ancient and beautiful body customs are still prevalent today for the same reasons as the ancient practices, and for the influence it has had on Western Culture. But some practices such as foot binding, thankfully, have stopped.
Groups of people all over the world still practice ancient body art to honor their culture, family, religious beliefs and customs. Now in Western Culture, people use body modification for the above mentioned reasons as well as aesthetics, membership affiliations, to re-claim a part of their body, self-expression, shock value, sexual value and to create beautiful works of body art.
A Mandan man (Native American) suspends from body piercings in order to experience clarity and vision through pain.
A Mandan man (Native American) suspends from body piercings in order to experience clarity and vision through pain.
Body modification has blown up into a serious subculture over the years and is a force to be reckoned with. Everything from expos, magazines, shows, gatherings,  art shows, photos and TV programs showcase the beauty in these physical alterations.
Although these alterations have mainstreamed in Western culture, unfortunately most still consider these practices to be taboo and undesirable for professional work settings. Many businesses employ strict dress codes and limitation on body jewelry or tattoos, stressing a very conservative approach to how one shall dress their body. Some religious groups have even gone as far as saying body modification is destructive and sacrilegious due to the fact the body belongs to God.
But who has the right to judge you or force you to conform to society’s standards? I say throw all caution to the wind and be you. If you want to honor your religious beliefs or a memory by a tattoo, do it. If you want to pierce your septum because it is aesthetically beautiful, do it.
“But who has the right to judge you or force you to conform to society’s standards?”
Who has the right to say you can or cannot do something to your own body? There is an art and beauty to body modification which should be respected. Cultures across the globe have practiced different forms over the course of thousands of years, yet society still finds time to judge without educating themselves first on the history of such modifications.
I remember my mother asking me one day what I was going to do when I get married with all my tattoos. I looked at her and said, "I am not going to cover them up because this is who I am." And she smiled.
I remember my mother asking me one day what I was going to do when I get married with all my tattoos. I looked at her and said, “I am not going to cover them up because this is who I am.” And she smiled.
Would you tell a Hindu women that she cannot wear her religious red dot to work or cover it up if it was tattooed? No. Then why would someone say you cannot wear your septum ring to work or have a visible tattoo? Stand up for yourself if you ever find yourself being judged by society or work environments for your body modification choices. Body modification is a beautiful thing that should be enjoyed by anyone freely, without the disapproving judgments of others.
My only word of caution when it comes to tattoos or piercings is to seriously think why you are doing it and what it represents to you. I remember my mother asking me one day what I was going to do when I get married with all my tattoos. I looked at her and said, “I am not going to cover them up because this is who I am.” And she smiled.

Are you happy with your body shape?

info taken from: yourdocmedical

Body image does dramatically affect our lives.
It can be a life long trial and source of deep unhappiness for some people. Many females have lost their body confidence and it’s not really surprising when we are continually bombarded with images of skeletal tall models showing off clothes that can’t possibly look bad on ‘human coat hangers’.

Do you feel pressure?

Women of all ages, feel the pressure of having to conform to unrealistic and unachievable body stereotypes that stare at us from magazines and billboards on TV and film;  actually everywhere.
Young girls especially are being made to feel dissatisfied about how they look because all the models and celebrities are impossibly beautiful and thin. 
The government are aware of this problem.
Lynne Featherstone the new equalities minister says that this constant bombardment of retouched images poses “a significant risk to the physical and mental health of young people” and can even lead to bulimia and anorexia.
It has to stop.
Britain has an incredibly narrow view of what is beautiful - promoted by our extremely biased press and fashion industry.

Are we bored and exhausted of trying to conform to be tall and thin?

European woman have a sexiness that comes from the confidence of not worrying about their flaws. We can do the same. We need to empower our younger generation that all body shapes can look and feel fabulous. If we can boost our body confidence and self esteem it helps us become more assertive and confident in whatever role we play in life.
Do you ever encounter these frustrations?
  • The wardrobe is FULL but you ‘have nothing to wear’
  • You buy something then have nothing to go with it
  • You have clothes hanging up still with the label on
  • You get frustrated and lose confidence
  • You resign yourself to thinking that it’s YOUR body that is too big, too small, the ‘wrong’ shape etc 

Would you like to learn HOW to love your body shape?

One of the easiest, most cost effective ways is by learning how to dress for YOUR body shape using style tricks to show off your best assets and cover up the parts you don’t like.
There are generally 4 technical reasons.
It’s to do with:
  • the colour
  • the style
  • the scale
  • the fabric
But remember It’s NOT you, it could be the clothes that aren’t right. 

Here are some guidelines to get you started:

As a general rule we are aiming to ‘balance’ our shoulders with our hips. So if one is wider than the other we ‘balance‘ it up with the styles that we wear e.g. if you have shoulders that are narrower than your hips then you wear tops with cap sleeves, shoulder details or jackets with shoulder pads.
  • Put pattern and detail where you have ‘space’ on your body.  For example if you have a long neck wear scarves, or polo necks.
  • For those with long legs wear skirts with pattern and details, or cargo trousers.
  • Those with a shorter body should wear plainer colours and longer line tops to extend the top half.
  • If you have a long body, wear layers, patterns and details on your top half.
  • Do not wear any items ending on your widest part. Asymmetrical lines are great for distracting the eye.

jueves, 12 de noviembre de 2015

Topic for Debate

Are you happy with your body?

Please review the vídeo ahead of the class for the date 14/11/2015.