Is the Daylight Saving Time really Beneficial?

As you know (well, I'm sure there's someone who forgot it), last night at 3 a.m., our clocks moved back one hour to 2 a.m.

I want to start a discussion about the time's change. The wintertime represents one hour more of daytime in the morning and one hour less of daytime in the evening.

On the one hand, some studies say that in wintertime energy consumption decreases. I think this decrease is small, by a small margin. After all, main industries work 24 hours a day.

On the other hand, the fact that it becomes dark early causes stress and depression. And both things might decrease the productivity. Besides, if it's dark, people do less exercise and their health gets worse.

It's not worth my while to change the time in winter. I would prefer keeping the summertime all the year. What's your opinion about this?

James Wilkinson

Reflections of an Advanced Democracy

I think there are two main things that demonstrate that the USA, with their virtues and defects, are an advanced democracy.

On the one hand, I think it's really important the fact that someone who has voted for a Party (even he has supported its campaign or has taken part of a government) can change his vote in the next election. The best example is Colin Powell, who was the Secretary of State with George Bush and has said he'll vote Barack Obama. I think it reflects a great citizen responsibility. And it's really inconceivable in Spain.

Besides, every member of both cameras of the Congress is supposed to defend his own principles. He's not subject to the Party's discipline because he has done his individual campaign and he has been elected because of his own ideas. The most recent example is the voting of the plain against the financial crisis, where a lot of members of the Republican Party have voted no to the plain that has suggested his "leader".

On the other hand, I really like the fact that both main Parties discuss the most important reforms. Although one of them has the power to approve the laws without the support of the other, they try to reach an agreement before. So, they make sure the main laws won't be changed in the next session.

It doesn't happen in Spain, where every change of government means the destruction of the work that the last government has done. For example, last government was working last years in an education reform. When it was prepared to be voted, they lose the election an the new government threw away it and made another one completely different. It wouldn't happen if they had discussed it before.

As opposed to Spain, in the United Kingdom, where there is a democracy as advanced as it is in the USA, the ex-leader of the Labour Party Tony Blair went on with some of the policies of the conservative Margaret Thatcher. If something worked, why did they have to change it? Only to get some votes? No, they knew the nation is more important than the fact of win the election, something that Spanish politicians have forgotten time ago.

James Wilkinson

Righteous Kill (2008)

This film is directed by Jon Avnet and stared by Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

First thing I should tell to you is I'm one of the best fans of both actors. Actually, it's not really true, but they are two of my favorite actors.

During the summer, I heard they were going to star a film together. They have only been in the same film twice before. These two films are The Godfather and Heat. But in the first of them they don't appear together in any scene, and in the second they only share in one of them. So, I was looking forward to watching this film and, in the end, I watched it at the cinema.

The film tells the story of two decorated detectives. It seems that a recent murder is connected with a case they believed to be solved thirty years ago. Maybe they jailed the wrong person. Are they following up a serial killer?

I think the best way to describe this film is to quote Peter Travers, who is a famous film critic. In his review he wrote: Some people think Robert De Niro and Al Pacino would be a kick to watch just reading a phone book. Well, bring on that phone book.

As I've said, I was one of them. But now I really think it would be better to bring on the phone book. The only thing that might save the film is its end and, obviously, I won't explain it here.

In summary, I think it's a bad idea to pay to see this film.

James Wilkinson

Greetings from James Wilkinson

Hi,

I'm a student of the 4th year of English at the Esplugues de Llobregat's EOI and this will be a place where I'll post everything that comes into my head. This blog is part of the continuous assessment course and I'm not allowed to write my real name because my classmates mustn't identify me. So, you can call me James Wilkinson for the moment.

As my friends know (and you'll see it in my posts), I'm not politically correct. As Laozi said, true words are not nice; nice words are not true. But I'm really open-minded and I like discussing. If you give me good arguments I'll change my opinion.

So, I'll try to write about varied issues to make it as interesting as possible. I hope you'll enjoy it and, if you comment my posts giving me new points of view I'll really enjoy it.

See you soon.

James Wilkinson