A SONG FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY

 New Year is coming and New Year’s Day one of my favourite holidays! There’s a  perfect song to celebrate it, which I really like, it is Taylor Swift's New Year's Day. Do you know it?

 Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her songs revolves around her personal life. At age of nine, she became interested in musical theater, then she shifted her focus towards country music. She spent her weekends performing at local festivals and events. In 2006 she wrote her first song "Tim McGraw" which was a great success.

2021 IS COMING

 

Hi everyone! We have finally reached the end of horrible 2020.

It has been a really stressful and tiring year,  especially because of Covid-19, but also because of other ugly and shameful events such as the death of George Floyd or the huge fire of the Amazon forest, which went up in flames.

A few days into the new year I would like to make a wish: I would like everything to return to a more peaceful life.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

 

We are on a break for the Christmas holidays. Let's enjoy this time and be grateful for what we have, for our families and friends and for the love and care they give us. Let's show them our love and may this be a time of peace and hope for everyone. Merry Christmas and ... see you in the new year!

Blessings

Let's Blog Staff

PANETTONE VS PANDORO

 

PANETTONE

 

Panettone is one of the typical Italian Christmas cakes, even if a lot of people do not know its history because the birth of panettone is linked to several legends.

The most famous one tells that the panettone was born at the court of Ludovico il Moro, lord of Milan in the fifteenth century.

THE MYTHS & LEGENDS BEHIND THE TWELVE CONSTELLATION OF THE ZODIAC

Humans have always been fascinated by the stars. Since the beginning of our history, we have watched them, trying to uncover their mysteries. Stars form constellations, beautiful figures that light up the night sky.

Among the various constellations, there are twelve that have a special place in our culture. Together, these twelve constellations form the Zodiac.  We all know what they represent, but what many people don’t know is their history, where they come from. Today, we’ll try to shed light on the origin of the Twelve Constellations of the Zodiac.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS (WAR IS OVER)

 

Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is a song written by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was published on 6^th December 1971 on the B-side of a record, with, on the A-side, Listen the snow is falling, written by Yoko Ono. Happy Christmas (War Is Over) is one of the most important and best known Christmas songs.

The authors recorded this song as a protest against the war in Vietnam and they wanted to attract interest on it. The war had started in 1955, sixteen years before and it would continue until 1975.

In that war the USA used chemical weapons such as napalm, a substance, containing petrol, which can cause serious burns. This incendiary mixture killed a lot of people and it made the war incredibly bloody.

THE 7 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD

 

You surely have already heard about the seven wonders of the world, but have you ever heard about the seven engineering wonders of the world? In fact, nowadays it isn’t enough to say seven wonders of the world because there are several types of “seven wonders of the world”: there are ancient wonders, natural wonders and engineering wonders.

 

In this article I would like to focus on the seven engineering wonders of the world, but first here are  the ancient ones, as categorized by Philo of Byzantium in 250 B.C.:  the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Colossus of Rhode, the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Statue of Zeus, the Temple of Artemis, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The only ancient wonder still standing is the Great Pyramid of Giza.  

 

TRAVELLING IN THE UK: 5 QUINTESSENTIALLY ENGLISH VILLAGES

 

 

When we talk about the United Kingdom, we usually think of big cities like London, Manchester, Liverpool and Oxford, but England is a land full of lovely, cosy villages, away from the chaos of the metropolis where time seems to have stopped. Here are some  you can add to your wish list.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

 

There are so many Christmas traditions in Europe: decorating your Christmas tree, baking holiday cookies, and opening Christmas presents. But what are the Christmas traditions  from around the world?

THE COUNT OF TUSCANY, A STORY AND A SONG

 

Hi everyone, I’m Francesco G. and this is my new story for our blog. I decided to write one inspired to my favourite song lyrics.  I’m talking about “The Count of Tuscany” by Dream Theater, included in the album “Black clouds & silver linings”. The words in bold are quotations from the song.

This song does not only deal with the theme of fear, but also with stereotypes and easy cliches . Ready to read my story now? To create the right atmosphere, play the song while reading (CLICK HERE)

                 I saw a big smile on his face: <<You are a famous musician, aren’t you?>>. <<Yes, I am>>. Then I looked at him: he wore a really elegant suit, something you don’t expect to see in a bar in a small town in Tuscany.

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU HERPY, MY ALASKAN MALAMUTE

 

 

A dog already used in ancient times to pull the sled and move large weights, the Alaskan Malamute is considered one of the oldest sled dogs in the entire Arctic. The Alaskan Malamute owes its name to the Inuit Mahlemiut tribe that started the selection of this animal in ancient times. Who bet on the races of dogs of different breeds. The fame of the American specimen reached as far as Massachussets, where Eva Seeley decided to get one of these dogs. Eva and her husband decided to open a kennel. Their specimens were recruited by the Americans during the Second World War. The many deaths, however, put the breed in danger and risked extinction.

AROUND THE WORLD IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF SIR FRANCIS DRAKE

 

Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for being the second, after Magellan, to complete the world tour.  Francis Drake has always been the champion of great travellers because over the years his story has become myth, starting from the sixteenth century until today. 

 

And today, as a lover of the world and all its beauties, I want to explore the world through 11 Places, 11 photos and 11 captions because there is a question I often ask myself: where would I go if I had to travel the world in 11 stages? 

THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

 

 Among the more common fears, the fear of the unknown is without doubt the most widespread but, have you ever wondered why we are so scared by the unknown?

 

Firstly, let's define the unknown: the unknown could be a person or a car we haven't seen before in our neighbourhood; a sound heard in the dark; a new experience we are going to face, like the first day of a new job, rather than the first date with a girl (or a boy). So, trying to define the unknown is difficult, because it may include so many aspects of our lives. But I would like you to notice something: it isn't important if the unknown is a good or a bad thing, an very important or a meaningless event: if we don't know what is going to happen, we feel scared, we feel anxious, and very often part of our mind suggests to shy away from the situation.

MAX VERSTAPPEN VS CHARLES LECLERC: THE NEW ERA OF FORMULA1

Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen  are intended to become two of the best drivers F1 has ever had. Since last season their great rivalry has been entertaining fans all over the world. Let’s discover more about them!

 Max Verstappen is the son of a F1 driver, Jos Verstappen, so he has speed in his blood. He started his career in the kart world championship proving  immediately to have a great talent. At the age of 17 he debuted with Red Bull’s  second team but in the next year he was promoted to the first team and in his first race   he won the Spanish Grand Prix (youngest winner ever).

In the first years of his career he was very aggressive and had many retires but in the years he has matured a lot, he has collected 9 wins, one pole position and 40 podiums. He's only 23!

THE DEVIL'S VIOLINIST

 

Hi guys and welcome back to our blog! Today I’d like to talk  about a film I watched some days ago. This film is titled “The devil’s violinist” and it’s the story of the greatest and most virtuoso violinist, and composer, in the history of Music: Nicolò Paganini.

CALISTHENICS, NEXT GENERATION'S SPORT

 

The word “calisthenics” comes from the ancient Greek words kalós, which means "beautiful”, and sthenos, meaning "strength". It is the art to control our own body “to defeat the gravity laws” and consists in several bodyweight exercises.

It dates back to the 19^th century, when gymnasts brought their movement out from their gyms, but it started spreading in 2010 in America, with Hannibal for King’s YouTube videos. In Italy in 2013, people already practised calisthenics (known as street workout); so many calisthenics were born.

SOULS GAMES

What’s up guys ? Welcome back to our web magazine. Today I would talk about how a lot of teenagers when they have free time,  they don’t know what to do and spend their time getting bored. I wonder,  why don’t they just play one of the best videosagas in the world!?  I’m talking about “The FromSoftware” saga.

FromSoftware developed not many games, but these games are jaw dropping, and they are my favourite ones, I’m talking about: Dark Souls, Bloodborn, Demon Souls and Sekiro.

REMEMBER, REMEMBER ... GUY FAWKES NIGHT

 

We all have happened to see the mask below: pale skin, goatee, a thin moustache. But do you know where it comes from? That is Guy Fawkes’s mask.

·     WHO  WAS GUY FAWKES?

Guy Fawkes was originally from Yorkshire, he was born in 1570 and he was raised by his catholic stepfather. In the period in which he was born ,  Queen Elizabeth I consolidated the autonomy of the Anglican church from the Catholic Church of Rome and with her Britain became one of the most important powers in Europe.

DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA: FAREWELL TO THE BEST.

 

 

Yesterday I was thinking about something to write about for or blog when, surfing the Net, breaking news titled: Maradona’s death.

Personally, I’ve never seen him play but, just by watching his videos on YouTube, you can feel his magic with the ball at his feet.

Since I love football, I thought I’d write an article in his honour because he is the player who first made me fall in love with football. So, here we go!

ONE OF THE MANY TIMES THE USA RISKED A NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE

 

Our story is set in the peaceful countryside of Arkansas , here underneath an anonymous white lid there was an entire missile facility , the base 374-7 , with the most terrible nuke owned by U.S.A. ( the a-bomb w53) .                                 

On 18 September 1980 some technicians should have gone there and see if everything worked properly. During the servicing one of them , made a 4 kg bolt fall down by mistake , this bolt tore the basis of the rocket and a lot of fuel started to spurt out , and here is the problem .The fuel started to sprout out because the rocket itself was relatively light and thin . Actually, most of the weight of a rocket  is due to the fuel . The rocket had two tanks with two different liquids , since during a hypothetical crisis it should have set off in a few seconds. The only thing needed to activate them is that the two fuels got in contact .

THE MOST FAMOUS TRIAL IN THE US: THE O.J SIMPSON TRIAL

The US are known for its high amount of crimes that every year the court has to take to trial.  But among all those trials there’s one that every American (and non-American) will remember: the O.J Simpson trial.

 If you live on the Earth, you have probably heard of O.J Simpson, also known as the Juice, who was accused in 1995 of a double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman. He’s known for being one of the most famous footballers in America… at least until the night he was arrested.

But let’s go back and retrace the events.

ACCESS TO THE INTERNET: IS IT TRULY A RIGHT FOR EVERYONE?

 

 

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our blog.  How are you? I’m fine, I can’t complain. Today we're going to talk about the Internet.

Nowadays everybody uses it and it has become part of our lives, especially in this difficult period for us students (but also for the teachers, of course!).

The access to Internet is a human right. Therefore we urge all states to ensure free access to the network: it’s necessary to obtain the freedom of expression and opinion. One important tool , especially in countries where the media are not independent, as demonstrated by the riots breaking out there, Internet access is part of human rights; moreover, the  internet has become an indispensable means for the achievement of a whole range of human rights.  It helps fight inequity and accelerate the development and progress of each state.

TIME FOR A VIDEOGAME: LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

 

I have a great videogame to recommend to you today, one of my best favourites at present. Have you heard of League of Legends? It is one of the most popular competitive game in the world, commonly abbreviated LoL, and it is a multiplayer online battle arena video game developed by Riot Games. It has earned praise for its accessibility, character design, and production value. LoL is often cited as the world's largest esport, with an international competitive scene. The 2019 League of Legends World Championship had over 100 million unique viewers, with a minimum prize pool of US$2.5 million.

COVID-19, DISTANCE AND HUMAN RELATIONSHIP

 

Thoughts, emotions and feelings have been changed drastically by the pandemic. Covid-19 demands physical distance and sees a potential enemy in our neighbour, so our habits have been questioned and are changing and adapting to new social behaviours.

SISYPHUS CHEATS DEATH

 

                                                                          

 Death is a recurring theme in legends and folklore all round the world. All cultures have tales of great heroes returning from the Underworld or even defying Death itself. These stories remind us to never give in, not even when we face the greatest obstacles.

Sometimes, the protagonist is not a hero and the story has a much darker moral. Le a look at the story of Sisyphus, the man who cheated Death and was punished for it.

SYSTEM OF A DOWN BACK TOGETHER AFTER 15 YEARS

 

Have you ever heard of the “System of a Down”? They are an American band, but all the membres are from Armenia. They are an Alternative Metal band, who is formed by John Dolmayan (drums), Shavo Odadjian (bass), Daron Malakian (guitar and second singer) and Serj Tankian (lead singer and sometimes also keyboards and second guitarist). 

MY TOP 5 NETFLIX SERIES

 

Hi everybody,  what’s up? I think that autumn and winter are perfect seasons to watch tv series, because days are becoming shorter and colder. Especially in this period,  staying at home is very important to stop the Covid19 epidemy.  When we mention tv series it is impossible not to think of Netflix, so in this article I’m going to talk about 5 of my favourite Netflix series.

THE FINAL DUEL

 

Hello, this is my new post, my first one in this school year. As I did before (for siege of Masada, for example), I tried to capture a specific moment in history,  or I’d better say classic literature,  in a short text, a short story full of tension and emotions.  I hope you’ll enjoy it.  

Francesco G., 4sc

FIVE CURIOUS FACTS ABOUT TIKTOK

 

What is TikTok?

 

TikTok is a social network born in China with the aim of radically changing the world of social media, offering very different possibilities compared to traditional social networks such as Instagram and Facebook.  TikTok has completed its revolution with 60 second video shots, of all genres.

 

 Here are 5 curious facts about this app

HELLSING

 

Hello everyone and welcome back to our blog! We are in the spooky month so I’m going to tell you about something very pertinent.

I think everyone knows who Dracula is: the first vampire in the history, a  really pitiless being, to the point that they say he impaled his enemies and put they in front of his castle to keep everybody at a distance.

THE SAD STORY OF THE MC DONALD BROTHERS

 

 

In today’s post I’m going to tell you the very sad story of the Mc Donald brothers, the ones who had the idea of creating the most famous fast food chain, the Mc Donald’s restaurants.

If you ask anyone who is the founder of this fast food chain, they’ll probably answer Ray Kroc but the fact is that he took the idea from the Mc Donald brothers. Let’s start from Ray Kroc. 

ONE OF THE BRIGHTEST MINDS OF THE 21st CENTURY: ELON MUSK

 

Do you know who Elon Musk is? He is one of the brightest minds of the 21st century and his business projects demonstrate his vision for the future.

Already at a young age Elon was interested in technology,  at 10 he developed his first program and at 12 he sold his first videogame.

In 1989 he arrived in Canada and began studying at Queen University, then completed his studies in the United States and graduated in Physics and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania. With his brother Kimbal he founded the Global link information network.

THE SHADOW OF THE WIND

 

The shadow of the wind is a gothic novel by the Spanish writer Carlos Ruiz Zafón, published in 2001. This book is part of a tetralogy with The Angel’s game, The Prisoner of Heaven and The labyrinth of Spirits.

The story of the book

The book speaks about Daniel’s adventure. In 1945 in Barcelona, the owner of a  bookshop decides to show his son Daniel Sempere “The Cemetery of The Forgotten Books”, a place where the people bring out-of-print books to save them. There, Daniel Sempere discovers a book called The shadow of the wind by Julian Carax. This book captures Daniel’s imagination.

He wants to know Carax and so he investigates about him. He discovers that his copy is the last one because a mysterious figure called Laìn Coubert wants to destroy Carax’s works. In Carax’s story, Laìn Coubert is the name of the Devil.

He discovers a “damned” story, impossible loves and a macabre secret. This is a story where Daniel finds out uncannily resemblances with his life.

During the research, he knows many characters such us Fermín Romero de Torres, who will become his best friend, Gustavo Barcelo and his niece Clara, whom he will fall in love with, and inspector Fumero, who will be his enemy.

The shadow of the wind is the most important and most popular of Zafón’s books.

REMOTE LEARNING VS IN PERSON

We made a survey among our staff on remote lessons and in-person lessons. Learning remotely places a pressure and responsibility on students to suddenly have much more self-control. Additionally, the environments of distance versus in-person learning are very different and this factor holds distance learning back from being an adequate substitute for in-person learning. But the emergency of a dangerous pandemic have made remote learning necessary. What do our staff think about it? 

CLOSE TO THE HORIZON

 

  

Hi everyone! Have you ever seen this movie? I love it!

It’s the story of Jessica,  a kind and caring girl, who meets Danny,  a successful and independent  boy. They start dating and fall in love, but Jessica sees something else lingering underneath Danny’s perfect face. Later Jessica finds some harrowing truths about Danny’s traumatic childhood.

2020: A YEAR OF CATASTROPHES

 

We ended 2019 with a problem that lasted for months and that damaged Australia: a terrible forest fire that destroyed millions of hectares. If 2019 left us with the Earth burning; 2020 was no less; indeed it was a year of misfortunes and catastrophes since the beginning.

 

TRICK OR TREAT? HALLOWEEN!

 

Hi everyone! As you know,  in a few days it will be Halloween and, just thinking about all the candies I can eat, my mouth is watering.

What about you? Will you celebrate it? Will you trick or treat with your friends? But the most important question is: do you know the story of such an important holiday in England and America ? Let’s it  find out together!

BEING FAMOUS

 

Hi everyone! Welcome back to our blog. Today we're going to talk about being famous and rich, a very interesting topic. Let’s discover more!

Being famous and rich is one of the life goals of many  young people. There are people who like becoming public property, being acknowledged by the others and being at the centre of their attention; but there are  other who don’t like that so much. Of course, we can say  that there are both advantages and  disadvantages in being popular.   

DO YOU MEME?

Hi everyone! 2020 has not been kind to us so far.  Just think how many amusing things we have done...  none!

Exactly! We just stayed at home without having much fun.So why don’t try to have some fun together now with some memes?

But first, do you know what  a meme is? Here is all you must know about memes.

 

ARE YOU STOIC? READ AND FIND OUT!

 

 

Do you think you are stoic? You may be  without knowing. Read this post and find out! 

Stoicism is a school of philosophy that dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. Stoicism was one of the greatest schools of thought which provided answers to anxiety, stress, fear, and troubling.

SUMMER BREAK

2-STROKE VS 4-STROKE ENGINES

You may have noticed I’m fond of cars and engines. That’s also why I’d like to be an engineer one day. Today I’m going to describe the most common types of car engines. You may have heard the terms 2 stroke and 4 stroke engines before, but do you really know all of the differences in their operation? I hope my post and the video below may help if you don't. 

The combustion engines are the most common type of engine with regard to means of transport like motorcycles, cars, busses and trucks but they are used also for small power tools like lawn mowers and chainsaws. In one of my articles in the blog I mentioned how they work but these two types have a small difference that change how they are made and used. How it works? A piston connected to the crankshaft by means of a connecting rod, flows up and down in a cylinder thanks to the force generated by the explosions of a mixture of air and gasoline. The connecting rod has the task of transforming the piston motion into a rotary motion.  But let’s talk about the differences about 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines.

CHINA: REEDUCATION CAMPS OR CONCENTRATION CAMPS? THE PERSECUTION OF THE UYGHUR MINORITY

The other day  while I was scrolling the home page  of YouTube, I came across a video that struck me. It was about some facilities discovered in China thanks to satellite images. The surprising thing is that from above you can see the shadows of fences , a surrounding wall and some watchtowers . But what are exactly these facilities? To understand it we have to know  first the history of the Uyghurs .

The  Uyghurs  are a Turkic ethnic minority which lives mainly in Xingjian province of northwestern China.They are closer to the capital of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan than to Beijing. They are also closer culturally to those Turkic groups than they are to the Han ( China's ethnic majority ) .

5 (+1) CURIOSITIES ABOUT NAPOLEON “BONAPARTE”

On this day in 1815 Napoleon was defeated by the British at Waterloo.  Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the cheekiest and most reckless emperors in history. He rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars, becoming in short time so powerful as to crown himself emperor of France, and so important as to condition the whole of Europe even after its fall. However, also such a charismatic figure hid  more or less bizarre facts.

UCHRONIA

Now everyone who’s reading this post would be thinking: “What does Uchronia mean?

                Uchronia is a parallel course of history different from the original one only for a single event which takes a different course.

                This word comes from the Greek words  “ou” (no) and “kronos” (time).

                There are a lot of examples of these parallel universes: the most famous is the one in which Nazi Germany wins the second World War. The famous novel “The Man in the High Castle” imagines this specific Uchronia.

THE GREATEST ATHLETES IN HISTORY

 

“Fans of one sport claim that that sport is intrinsically better than another. For me, all sports are occasions when other human beings push us to excel. " (Robin Williams)

THE EUROPEAN UNION, WHAT IS IT?

Hi guys! Giacomo here. How are you? I'm fine, a bit stressed out but I'm ok! It's a difficult time for every student, but it's almost over, so hold on! Today I'm going to talk about the European Union. During these hard times we need to be united more than ever. Let's discover more about the EU!

BLACK LIVES MATTER

On May 25, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, after he was accused of buying cigarettes with a counterfeit $20 bill. 20 minutes after the first squad car arrived at the scene, Mr. Floyd was unconscious and pinned beneath three police officers, showing no signs of life.

The police officer, Derek Chauvin, pushed his knee on George Floyd’s neck and after about 8 minutes he died…

Immediately a very big group of people began to protest in a peaceful way against these abuse of violence from police officers.

TEN THINGS YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT DUA LIPA

Hi everybody, today I would like to talk about one of my favorite singers, Dua Lipa. In the latest years she has been one of the most popular pop artists in the world. Here are ten curiosities you absolutely have to know about her.