James Hetfield - Living Ledgend

Thursday, 22 March 2012

James Allan Hetfield was born in 1963. He is now 48 years old and vocalist of the heavy metal band, Metallica. He started in music when he was 9 and he began playing piano by the influence of his mother, who was a lyrical singer. Later he learned how to play the guitar and the drums.

Now he is married to Marcella Hetfield and they already have three kids.

But more important than his personal life is his talent and work. First he founded Obsession. The band played in school presentations and they were starting to write the first lyrics, however they couldn’t find any success. The small crowds that went to the concerts usually preferred covers, and that was getting on James’ nerves.

After Obsession, Metallica came. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo are the present members of the band which changed the face of heavy metal. The band was formed in 1981, and it had many members until now, but only James and Lars are in it from the start. However, Metallica survived all these years, and today it remains as one of the best heavy metal bands ever.

James Hetfield is known by his vocals and dedication. Millions of fans all over the world find him an inspiration, not only by his music but also by his character. This dedicated and original man is the co-creator of some of the greatest songs and albums I have ever heard! In my opinion this is a man which people should look up to, he and his band don’t made “noise” like some people say.  Their songs have actually meaning and many times they are dedicated to social problems. “And Justice for All” is just an example.

I think James and the music he is responsible for are marks and they have been present in many chapters of my life.

I leave you with some awesome Metallica songs! \m/

(If you love Metallica don’t forget they are coming to our country in May, it will be a day to remember!)

Inês Ribas Dias 

 

James Hetfield

Eminem

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. 

Marshall always had conflicts with many people but not for his fault. He has also spoken openly about his addiction to prescription drugs, including Vicodin, Ambien, Valium and Methadone.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, on October 17, 1972, Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s. He has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines including the ‘’Rolling Stone’’ magazine which has ranked him 82nd on its list of ‘’The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time’’. The same magazine has declared him ‘’The King of Hip Hop’’.

Eminem also made a lot of success with his movie ‘’8 Mile’’.

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Vítor Guimarães

Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong, China, on April 7th, 1954. He is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer.

Chan has been acting since the 1960’s and he has appeared in over 100 films. He is worldwide known for his acrobatic fighting style, use of improved weapons, comic timing and innovative stunts.

Curiosity:

When Jackie was young, his father waked him every day in the morning and together they were going to practice kung fu. Charles Chan, the father, believed that learning kung fu would help building Jackie’s character, teaching him patience, strength and courage.

As a cultural icon, Chan has been referenced in various pop songs, cartoons, and video games and because of his great performance in films he has received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

Hong Kong Avenue of Stars

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Vítor Guimarães

John Cena

John Felix Anthony Cena, Jr., was born in West Newbury, Massachusetts on April 23, 1977. He’s an American professional wrestler, hip hop artist and actor. Currently he is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he performs on ‘’Raw’’. Cena has won many titles but the most important were the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship.

The second of five brothers, he graduated with a degree in exercise physiology. After playing college football, he pursued a career as a bodybuilder. Years later he became a limo driver and then he became a professional wrestler.

In addition to his time in the ring, Cena released his rap album ‘’You Can’t See Me’’, in 2005 and a year later, he starred in ‘’The Marine’’, in October 2006.

Vítor Guimarães

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey was born in January 29, 1954. She is an American media proprietor, actress, talk show host, producer and philanthropist (which means she supports organizations that help people in several ways).

Winfrey entered in many films such as ‘’The Color Purple’’ in 1985 and ‘’Throw Momma from the Train’’ in 1987. She is worldwide known for her 6 Emmy prizes winner talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show which had been on the air for 25 years. Her last program was on May 25, 2011 and for now on she will dedicate her time to her own network, OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network), where she is the Chairman, CEO, and Chief Creative Officer.

Vítor Guimarães

Tetris

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Tetris is a video game designed by the Russian, Alexey Pajitnov in 1984. The name tetris is derived from the Greek, tetra-four, because all of the game pieces have four segments. There are seven different tetriminos. A random sequence of tetriminos falls down and the player must manipulate these tetriminos in order to create a horizontal line of ten blocks without gaps. The game is available for video game consoles, computers, graphing calculators, phones and other electronic devices and it’s considered one of the greatest games of all times.

 

Some people devote too much time and attention to the game and start having mental images and dreams with hypothetical sequences of tetriminos, this is called the Tetris effect. 

Although, according to a research playing tetris increases brain function and general cognitive functions such as critical thinking, reasoning, language and processing.  A study, also suggests that playing tetris may help prevent the development of traumatic memories, if the game is played after the traumatic event.

The Tetris World Championship is held every year, and sponsored by Alexey Pajitnov. In 2010, the first Coordinated World Champion was crowned in the U.S.A. 

Diana Barros

Muse

Well, since my peers are here talking about The Gift, I decided to post about one of my favourites bands too, Muse.

Muse is a british rock band, formed in 1994 in Teignmouth, Devon. The band is formed by Matthew Bellamy (who plays the keyboard, the guitar and sings), Christopher Wolstenholme (who also plays the keyboard and the bass) and Dominic Howard (who plays the drums).

Since they started their career, the band accomplished 36 awards and more than 90 nominations on important music competitions.

All their albums (such as "Black Holes and Revelations" or more recently "Resistance") were a big hit and they are known as the first band to ever fill the entire Wembley Stadium in London.

                                                                                               Fábio Freitas 10ºB