Matie's Corner

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Tuesday, August 7, 2007

The deforestation of the Amazon Basin and its effects on World climate

This is one of these days when I think: "It's time to REALLY wake up, folks. Humankind may not be around by 2100. No, not even by 2050. Really." The Amazon represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most species-rich tract of tropical rainforest in the... Sign in to see full entry.

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Monday, August 6, 2007

Sean Penn visited Venezuela and met Hugo Chavez

Sean Penn applauded President Hugo Chavez as the Venezuelan leader blasted the Bush administration and demanded an end to the war in Iraq. Chavez met privately with Penn for two hours last week in Caracas, praising the actor as "brave" for urging Americans to impeach President Bush. Penn didn't... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 10:38 AM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, August 3, 2007

Soap-operas: a way to understand Latin American culture

Also known as ‘telenovelas’, they can offer you a good glimpse of what is Latino culture like…but that’s not always the case. Plot: Mostly full of contrivances and cliches, they’re all about the poor girl/boy that knows rich boy/girl and fall in love at first sight. After a very brief and idyllic... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 3:54 PM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, July 30, 2007

Happy (Socialist) Meal Boxes for the kids in Venezuela!

When I first saw this on the news about a month or so, I thought it was a joke. But when I saw two women on the media denouncing that these ‘Happy Meal Boxes’ were given to their children in the lunchtime by the Metropolitan Mayorship of Caracas, my jaw fell off (and LMAO hysterically for about half... Sign in to see full entry.

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Saturday, July 28, 2007

The world’s best coffee: Colombia

It is well-known that the so-called ‘third world countries’ are one of the main sources for raw material, as they export it to the first world countries, so they can transform it into semi-finished or finished products. Contrary to all common beliefs, Colombia’s main exports to the U.S are not... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 12:42 PM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Update on the links

If you want to know a little bit more about what's going on in Latin America and/or Venezuela, these links will provide you more information than what is/will be posted here. Venezuela News and views ---------> This is a blog by Daniel Duquenal that has been around for some time now. I think it... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 8:52 PM | add or view comments (1) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Glad to be back :-)

Caracas, Venezuela After a tough month full of exams, I’m happy that I can write again, having this perfect opportunity to show you a good glimpse of Latin American culture. So, in a kinda brief note, what happened to the student’s protests and rallies for freedom of speech? Well, they cooled off.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 7:58 PM | add or view comments (0) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, June 16, 2007

A forced break

Phew. I've just had a week full of assignments and exams in college. They got accumulated because of the protests, and the whole academic calendar had to be readjusted (as if wasn't more stressful for us). That's why I haven't been writing here over a week or so. But once I get over all of this, I... Sign in to see full entry.

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Saturday, June 2, 2007

Inner (outer) turmoil

Caracas, Venezuela. Sigh. It’s been truly a rough week. Most college students all over the country expressed their rejection towards the government’s decision to not renew RCTV channel 2’s license of emision, and they were repressed with tear gas and pellet shots, even though they were unarmed and... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Matie at 5:49 PM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Have you ever seen a short·haired himalayan cat?

This is my cat. Its name is Pupu. As it's usually known, most male himalayan cats are long·haired and have a large mane. But my cat grew up with the rather tropical weather conditions of my country (between 25 and 30 C, I don't know how much it is in F) and therefore he's short·haired. Still,... Sign in to see full entry.

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