Amanda - Review on a movie

O Palhaço

The movie O Palhaço has been on in the cinemas since October 28^th but one million people have already watched it. This movie was written, directed and acted by Selton Mello, a wonderful artist.

The movie is a comic drama: it’s a story about a clown (interpreted by Selton Mello) in crisis. The clown – he is called Benjamim – isn’t convinced about his career and then he goes after this conviction experimenting other situations outside the circus. It’s a funny and sensible film at the same time because it’s made of hilarious situations that involve the troupe in and out the scene.

Before Benjamim goes to the big city (to seek his identity), he knows a girl, has dinner at Mayor’s house, is almost arrested and comes on the scene until a day he doesn’t act like he always did. This day is the fateful point for that to Benjamim leaves the circus and goes after his identity metaphorical and literally.

Benjamim gets his identity card and finds a job in the big city. He works during some days and concludes that his happiness is really in the circus, that he loves being a clown. Despite this existential crisis, the movie is light and it isn’t pedantic. The scenes are very beautiful and the actors act beautifully.

O Palhaço is a movie for people to smile and get emotional too. I liked it very much because it’s an amazing story. I started to see the life differently because the movie shows that simple things of life (like a smile) are very important too.

Carlos, André and Leandro - Chain Short Story

Title - Wills over Wheels

Stuart Reynolds was really worried that day. He couldn't stand another month unemployed. But these times have been hard for everybody, not just him. “There will be a thousand other people in this interview. Everybody wants this job. Any job. Damned crisis!”

One more time, the breakfast was very poor, just a cup of black coffee and two pieces of toast, but he barely noticed. He was reading the mortgage letter that had arrived the day before, while he was doing nothing, as usual. Sometimes, he found out in the last weeks, it was difficult to deal with time. People want more time to live, but there's a certain limit. After this limit, you start to face yourself, and you start to question the meaning of everything. This morning he dared to open it, after hours staring at it. “Even though I sell everything that I have, I'll be just postponing my eviction. Maybe for a month or two.”

Finally, the time to get out for the interview came. He went out, astonished by the fact that the idea of selling everything was not bothering him. After all, he wanted to start from the beginning again. A new life for a new man. That was his dream.

That job would be a new chance, another attempt to do his best and forget the mistakes that had put him in this situation. However, Stuart was very tired and a little hopeless. The last twenty interviews he had made were absolutely discouraging: lots of people, very few vacancies, a whole day lost and… nothing, not even a call. “Well, keep trying Stuart, if you stop the ship it will sink faster!” he said to himself.
When he got out the house, he noticed a strange man on the sidewalk. Despite the sun, he was wearing a black overcoat, and his fedora hat and the sunglasses didn’t let Stuart see his face. He was smoking a cigarette very quietly in front of a black car with very dark tainted windows As Stuart was getting close, the man said:
- Good morning, Mr. Reynolds!
- Good morning, Mr. … sorry, do we know each other?
- Maybe... I am an old friend of your father’s. We used to work together.
- Oh, really? What’s your name?
- Do you have a minute to talk?
- Sorry, your name is...?
- Ok. It’s simple. One question, one answer.
- Look, you don’t want to talk, me neither . I have an interview and can’t wait h...
- Mr. Reynolds, do you want some money?
- What?
- Don’t you get it? Money? Easy job, clean money?
- What the hell...? But, who are you, what money?
- No questions now! Just yes or no.
- I can’t wait anymore! Sorry, I must go!
- Ohh, go on! Try another one! You are a big hard head, Mr. Reynolds. We both know that this interview will fail, like the others! Come on, face it! You are in a hole, going down and down! And I saw your eviction letter Mr. Reynolds, I saw it... Your father would be very disappointed! Look at what you’ve done with his property!
Those words made Stuart stop walking, and many things start to come to his mind. “Who is this man? How does he know about my life? And my father?... Yes, I need money, but what kind of proposal is that? A man just came here and offers me a job?”
Despite this doubts and feelings, Stuart was very upset about his problems. If he waits one more month, his life will be in a situation that he couldn't even imagine to be. He wanted to try another way. “The man got to my weak point, I don’t know how to solve that...That’s enough! It shouldn’t be so hard”, Stuart thought.
- Yes or no, Mr. Reynolds?
-.... Yes, but what kind of job is that?
- Get into the car. My boss will explain to you.

Stuart felt a chill on his spine, but what else could he do? Whatever he started to think about, it always ends with a simple thought: “I need money”. His life could be in danger by accepting to enter that car with those men, but no one could guarantee he’d be safe if he refused the invitation

- What if I refu…

- You won’t refuse it Mr. Reynolds and we both know it!

- Ok, ok, I’m going with you. I don’t know who you are nor why you’re here but I guess I have no choice.

- Good, please enter the car now. You won’t regret it.

As soon as the engine starts, Stuart begins to ask questions but the mysterious man just ignores him until he feels bothered by one of the questions.

- Who is your boss?

- Ok Mr. Reynolds, I see you didn’t get it. I’ll answer you this one for once and then I hope you’ll just keep your mouth shut until we reach our destination. See this car? See these men? Are they talking to you?

Those words seemed nonsense for Stuart. Suddenly the man turns his head to one of his crew:

- Hey, you, say hi to Mr. Reynolds.

- Hi there Mr. Reynolds. We are glad that you have accepted…

- That’s enough, thanks. I think Mr. Reynolds had his question properly answered.

…

The car stopped after two hours. Stuart couldn’t recognize the place because he felt kinda dizzy. There were some guys dressed with jumpsuits as professional race drivers and doing some physical training. Some of them were wearing helmets and some weren’t. Stuart saw one of the guys falling on the ground and quickly recovering his pace to keep up with the others. They seemed determined to accomplish their tasks. He was taken inside an old warehouse. It was dark inside there and the mysterious man finally started talking:

- Lights on, guys.

The place could now be seen, but it was not very understandable for Stuart. He could see some forklifts painted like they were stock cars. None of them were like normal forklifts. They were completely overhauled. Inside the warehouse he could see a complete racetrack.

- Mr. Reynolds, we have been watching you and we know you have some skills we might find useful. You might never have heard about what the hell we are supposed to do here because it’s been kept as a secret for ages. You might’ve already heard about some “accidents” inside local supermarkets, but the press never releases the full story because we have some people inside working for us to prevent this from happening. What we run here is an illegal Forklift Racing League, the next step in motorsports.

- Are you mad? What I'm supposed to do here?

- Wait and see.

They walked through the pit lane, climbed two flights of stairs, and got into a room. There they found a bald old man sitting on an upholstered chair behind a hardwood table. Lots of racing souvenirs were scattered around the room.

- Nice to meet you, Mr. Reynolds. I've been waiting for you.

- I wonder if you are supposed to explain me what the hell is going on here.

- Of course I will.

The old man nodded to the man on Stuart's side, and the man left the room.

- My name is Joseph Battista, and now you're my employee.

- I don't think so! Those gorillas went to my house and...

- Did they put you in the car against your will?

- No, but I didn't know...

- There you reached your no return point.

The strength and the confidence in Battista's voice scared Stuart.

– Your father worked for me for twenty-five years. And I know his talent is running through your veins.

– This can't be true. Now I see! You got the wrong guy. My father was just a janitor!

– That is what you were supposed to know. But he was, in fact, the best racing driver I've ever known. With his talent, I ruled the underground racings for almost two decades. He was also my best friend... And now, after mourning for ten years, I feel I have to regain my throne.

– So I guess I'll drive one of those machines.

– That's it.

“My father, a racing driver? I can't believe it.”

…

He accepted the proposal without further questioning. After all, the whole situation was much more comfortable than he had speculated during the long trip to this place. “Speculating about this job during the trip made me think I had to do something harder. Kill a man. Deliver a package in a dangerous place. But this... this is gonna be a piece of cake. And it doesn't look like I'm able to escape from here. After all, I have no idea where I am. This desert is hot as hell... I guess we are in New Mexico”.

…

It was still 4:30 AM when Stuart fell from his bed due to the noisy sound that kicked his dreams away. “A gong? What the hell!” thought Stuart. He was still dizzy when a young freckled boy busted in his room and threw some clothes on him:

- “C’mon your lazy bitc… O-H M-Y G-O-D!!! It’s true! He is here! I told them it was him! Mommy, momm…” And suddenly he ran away.

Stuart took the clothes out from his face and got dressed quickly. When he looked on the mirror, he was using an old blue janitor suit. On its back, it was written “JAN” and the number 77.

- This was yours father’s suit. We used to call him “Jan” and he added “Jan, the man who jams with all the girls”. So he was known before he “jammed” with the right chick… And that’s how you join this story and your father turned into a helluva driver. It’s incredible what true love can do…

- You mean my mother? You know her too?

- Sure! She was one of our cheerleaders! But don’t worry, she was not a “slut”, her only passion was dance, your father and you. She quit our company when you were born. But your father had all of this running inside his veins and he couldn’t quit in time…

- I see… I suppose he died because some sort of accident.

- No! He died from a hot-dog he saved for later!

- !?

Mr. Battista started crying.

- Poor guy… I told him I’d make a fresh one after the race, but…

- You killed my father by giving him a rotten hot-dog?

Mr. Battista started crying harder.

- It was not his fault! He was crazy for hot-dogs and he couldn’t stand any food waste… He asked my wife to make him a hot-dog because he was hungry… But she was sick and it took her longer to finish. The race was about to start and he didn’t have time to eat and asked me to keep it for later. It was a long race and the heat was very intense, the hot-dog couldn’t survive. I told him I’d make a fresh one myself but he took it from my bag saying “YOU SHALL NOT PASS” and put it on his mouth. After he finished, he said it was the best he had ever tried and started a speech about how we need to avoid food waste… but then he…

Stuart felt bad for Mr. Battista. Surely he had proven to be not a bad guy. All that talk about his father had grown more courage on him to accept the fate that he was the chosen one.

…

Mr. Battista took Stuart to the pit lane… A lot of drivers were getting inside the forklifts, but none of them were moving to the racetrack.

- Ok Mr. Battista… I’m so excited to test my skills.

- Test? We don’t have time for this, It’s the last race on the season and we need you to win so we’ll be the champions once again.

- No kidding!

- There’s the 1 minute flag… You better race it like your father… good luck son!

Mr. Battista ran away to the pit lane with the rest of the crew and Stuart grabbed the wheel for the first time… He was still surprised by the fact that 2 hours before he was sleeping and now he is driving forklifts illegally.

- LET’S JAM THIS ONE, GUYS!

The red lights turned on… and then the green and Stuart smashed his foot on the gas pedal like he knew what he was doing. He was starting on the last place and there were 25 other racers. The hoar of the engines were so loud that they couldn’t notice a distant sound that was approaching… It was like some kind of “police siren”

Stuart couldn’t ever imagine that one day he would be in a forklift race. And his dad had covered this for his whole life..“How come?” - he thought. But there was no time to think and wonder about the past. He must win and he doesn’t know exactly what would happen if he didn’t..

The first laps were a true revelation for Stuart. He felt it wasn’t so difficult and it seemed he got the perfect timing for changing gears, brake and accelerate without losing the speed, what gave him a good position, leaving many opponents behind. Course, he used to drive his old car very well some years ago, but he’d never tried something like that. He felt that he really knew how to do it.

The track wasn’t a simple one, with many obstacles - boxes, tires and some shelves left on the way, like a real warehouse. Several racers crashed into those obstacles, which caused many accidents and a huge damage to their forklifts. Stuart became a bit scared when realized his life could be in danger . But these accidents allowed him to gain good positions in a few laps.

During the race, that distant sound became louder, but the racers still couldn’t hear because of the noise of their cars. Unfortunately, it was the police siren that had just arrived. Inside the warehouse a red flashing light was turned on meaning that the race would finish in a very short time due to the cops outside. But Stuart didn’t know this security protocol and continue doing his best. “It should be nothing, keep going!” – he thought.

The Forklift Racing League is considered an illegal one because it involves lots of dirty money. The big megastore companies sponsor this kind of motorsport as a dispute for monopoly concessions in some regions of the USA. Furthermore, several millionaires make their bets and the race becomes a kind of gamble game. The police are always searching where this racing happens, as an attempt to get the leaders, but they never get them.

Mr. Battista was ready to run away with his fellows while the police was trying to unlock the warehouse’s big door. It wasn’t the first time that the police discovered the place and it wouldn’t be the last. The alert for the cops modify the racer’s behavior: some became more aggressive, others, unfocused . They must win and escape from the cops .

Finally, in the final lap, the police got into the warehouse and with their cars started to pursue the racers. Stuart was in the second position and only noticed something strange when he saw the first position racer giving up and running outside the track. When Stuart was very close to the end, he saw the police waiting for him.

- Yeah, fellow! You’re the winner. Now leave this vehicle and put your hands up!

- But, what have I done?? I was just driving!

- Shut up and freeze! – they said pointing their guns at Stuart

- Ok ok!

Then, Stuart was arrested and had no choice but to explain the facts. At this time, he was thinking: “Ok, I have no money, no job and I’m in jail! Very well, that’s my prize”. But he wasn’t feeling frustrated. That day he discovered his father’s history, and discovered himself. “I would do this again, if I get out of here one day”. While he was thinking about this special day, he fell asleep.

By the morning, he woke up with a voice saying:

- Mr. Reynolds!! Get up Mr. Reynolds! Do you want to live here? You are free! Go away!

- What?

- Yes, someone has paid your fine.

- But who?

- We don’t know. We just receive the money.

-----Three weeks later…

“6:00pm, it’s time to go home! Another workday complete“, Stuart thought. Since he got a small job in a local supermarket his life became a little bit steady. His financial problem hasn’t been solved yet, but it’s better than nothing. Without this money, he would be lost. The only problem that still upset him was his mortgage.

On the way home, Stuart remembered the experience with the forklifts. He really loved the felling of speed and danger. “I would try again, I swear! If it was a legal one, I would…”

Near the corner of his house, he felt a car was following him. He looked back, but that raining night and the shadows of the trees didn’t allow him to identify the car. When he turned the corner, a man with a black overcoat and a big umbrella seemed to be waiting for him.

- Mr. Reynolds!

- Who are you?

- We really like your job.

- What job?

- C’mom, don’t be stupid ! You know…

- Wait, are you talking about…

- Yeah…the League! And…sorry for the cops, it rarely happens. Lucky day yours!

- Course, I’m on a roll… And you said ‘easy money’, but I am still waiting for this money…

- Sorry, we had to pay a big police bribe for your freedom.

- Ok, what can I do …?

- Whatever. Now we have a proposal.

- Another?

- Yeah, five thousand at the beginning, and more each race you run. Mr. Reynolds, do you want to join our team?

- …

Next day, Stuart arrived late at his job. He said to his boss that he got sick because of the raining night before and couldn’t sleep the whole night. But there was a strong smell of gasoline in his clothes that he couldn’t explain…

Fabiana - My favorite room

The room in my house where I cook and eat is my kitchen. Perhaps the kitchen is the most important room in many houses, but in my house, the most important room is my bedroom, because it’s the place where I spend most of my time doing daily activities.

My favorite things are there: computer, books, TV, CD player, wardrobe with my purple clothes. I love purple, it’s a beautiful color! I have many purple things, like my curtain, the sheets and pillows of my bed, my wall and my chair. It’s fantastic! I have so many happy memories of times I spend here: When my friends visit me, we watch movies and TV series, play cards and use the computer to see funny videos.

Sometimes my best friend sleeps and we make a mess in my bedroom: eat chocolate, drink juice, talk about our boyfriends and we gossip about everything. It’s fun! I have studied a lot here, I spend hours sitting at my desk, reading and writing about subjects of university. My room is the most comfortable place in my house. I love to sleep in my bed and rest. Undoubtedly, some of the happiest times of my life have been spent in my bedroom.

Flavia - The future

What does the future hold for me?

Hello everyone!

My name is Flávia and I'm 31 years old. Next year I'll finish my master degree in Atmospheric Science and at the moment I don't know if I will keep studying, which means, trying a Ph.D. What does the future hold for me? Well, I know and at the same time I don't know. Perhaps it seems a little confusing, so I'd like to share my idea about this with you.

I believe there are something we can choose and other ones we can't choose. We can choose what to study, what to wear, our career and other things, this is under our control. But there are things that aren't within our control and we don't know how it'll be, it is our fate.

I chose to be a physicist and at the moment I'm specializing in Atmospheric Science, and I want to understand about nature, how it behaves and so on. I hope to work in this and to be an excellent professional and well recognized. However, at the moment I don't know where and when I'll get this, but I hope it's a great place to work.

I also hope to make some money working, because I want to rebuild my house, buy furniture and appliances, this is because I'll get married soon. I also would like to support my family with all its needs, to care for abandoned animals, and... I have many, many plans for the future, so summarizing, in the future, I hope to be successful in my career, to be healthy to do all my plans and to be able to enjoy life with my family.

Junior - Pros and Cons

Having a university degree

Most of the young people have the wish to enter College. However, they don't know what the world will expect of them with or without university degree.

First of all, having a university degree is much more than having a well-paid job or being intellectual. You must want to change everyday your little world, use what you learned for this. Many kinds of Graduate Student Oath refer “...execute the job with honesty and dignity, respecting your professional code and justice...”. By the way, this is the most important beyond gaining status or being recognized by people.

University life has many disadvantages, mainly it comes to liability, because there your parents don't help you anymore. In college, it seems that universe conspires against you. Having a social life is very improbable, professors ask a lot of homework, projects and tests, you have to manage your free time (if possible).

One huge advantage is that you can live several types of experiences. Try the ability of time management, meeting different people, learning new things etc. Another interesting point is that the student won't have a limit. It's possible to succeed in an academic career as grad student. Despite all bad things above mentioned, in my opinion, having a university degree is wonderful because by being somebody much better, you could live a bit better and build a bit better world.

In conclusion, to get a university degree is to try to improve as human being both intellectually and personally. We have to understand that entering a place where thoughts are wherever you lookis an opportunity for changing your thinking and making the difference in whatever you do.

Patricia - Pros and Cons

Having a university degree: pros and cons. One of the most important questions after high school is: “Should I go to college?” The answer depends on many different factors, but in most cases the answer is: “Yes, I need to go to college”. Nowadays there are many jobs that require a college degree, especially in the medical and engineering fields. Certainly having a degree is important, but just having a college degree doesn’t guarantee you a good job. In fact, there are many graduated people who are unemployed. In my opinion, having a college degree is important because more options are opened up to you in the job market. You will have a better chance to make money and, in addition, college helps to create a well-rounded person with better social and academic skills. Some of the cons I can mention are that the college fee is very expensive, you also don’t have the chance to earn money right after coming out of high school, you are constantly exposed to a highly competitive atmosphere, you are always exposed to high stress, you are not able to eat correctly and you don't get too much sleep. Finally, when deciding if college education is required or not, the student must weigh up all the pros and cons as well as other more personal reasons. Going to the university allows a student not only to become an expert in the chosen field, but also to become a conscious and political citizen, a person who really thinks and acts ethically.

Flavia - Complaint letter

Dear Virgulino, good morning!

First I would like to thank all the help, and communicate you that I arrived from Brazil today and I'm anxious to begin my study here in Australia.

However, I would like to inform you also that the house you rented me isn't in the conditions that we had agreed. There are problems in every room of the house. Well, I'll start detailing the problem on the bathroom: there isn't a shower, there is only a pipe through which the water comes.Also, there isn't a toilet seat, there is only a hole in the ground. In the bedroom, there isn't furniture and there is such a little bed. I won't talk about the living room, where is the living room? It doesn't exist! Now I'll speak of the kitchen: like the bedroom, there isn't furniture, there aren't forks and dishes.

As you can see, it is difficult to live here this way. How can we solve this?, because I already paid for being here, but not in these conditions.

Well, I’m waiting for your position about my problem (or your problem).

Thank you!

Flávia

Bruno - Biography

A Modern Archimedes

by Bruno

September 25, 2011

Are the good students crazy?

This month an unknown student discovered a new method for development in engineering, and after discovering it he had he had a peculiar celebration, he started to shout "Eureka, Eureka...", then he stripped off and after taking off all his clothes and he started to run by the Polytechnic Institute at University of Sao Paulo. However, people were afraid then they called the Police. Our guy, blind of happiness by his discovery, took his bicycle and fled.

Evidences show that the crazy man went to the beach, maybe he is in a nudist beach. One of evidences are photos taken by the cameras on the highways that link the capital to the coast. Witnesses saw that he tried to steal one parked motorcycle, before he got naked. Fortunately, he could not get (remove the got) the vehicle started and chose a bicycle of one friend. Many other things occurred, but, due to shame, the witnesses didn't tell us how Anderson continued his celebration.

Coincidences with the past?

Maybe one of the most intelligent men of all times is Archimedes, the legend tells that in his city, around 250 BC, the King of Siracusa asked for Archimedes, who was the kingdom's scientist, for him to solve a little problem, that was: the King had ordered a crown for a blacksmith. After some time he brought it, but surprisingly it didn't have the same weight as the original material provided (gold). The genius of Archimedes, in front of the problem, took a long time, he didn't take a bath, but one day, after his servants forced him to take a bath, in the bathtub he noticed one of the fundamental laws of nature, that the volume of a fluid displaced the mass of the object, this correspondence between the volume and the mass (the density) could be used to blame the blacksmith. The legend tells us that after his discovery he ran by the streets screaming: "Eureka, Eureka...", that means "I found it , I found it..."... coincidence?

Keilla - Complaint letter

200 Flinders Street

MELBOURNE VIC 3000

October 30th, 2011

Dear Sir Barriga,

I really need your help with this.

I’m a student from Brazil. I’ve come to Australia for an exchange programme and I’ve lived in your rented house. However, I’ve had some problems. I can’t even open the taps because the plumbs are rusty, so I’ve gotten some water from the neighborhood. The chairs in the kitchen are uneven, and then I’ve patched some wooden boxes to sit on. And the carpet in the living room is ragged. It’s been very ugly to welcome visits.

If these repairs very difficult to do, I´ll suggest you fix the plumbs at least. It’s the most urgent because I haven’t taken a shower and made any food. And you can repair the other things as soon as possible according to the contract that I’ve signed.

I don’t wish to go elsewhere and hope that a solution can be found.

I expect a reply soon and I will appreciate your help. Please contact me at the above address or by phone 7010-1111.

Yours sincerely,

Keilla

Glauber - Complaint letter

Gláuber Wampo

Rua Prestes Silva, 1242.

02332-003

Dear Fulaneto,

I am a little upset with you because I’ve worked hard every day. Yet, you don’t give me my money.

I know that you have always paid me on time. I think that you have some problems that's you haven't paid me yet. However, I need the money. I have to pay the rent and my mother is hospitalized and the hospital is very expensive.

So I ask you to pay my salary today. Sorry about being as forward as that. I can’t stand doing it, but I am really in need. I really expect that you are not upset with me.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Camponogara.

Fabiana - Complaint letter

Second Composition

Mr. Wilson,

I am writing this letter to express my dissatisfaction about the salary delay. In the first place, it isn’t correct to delay the salary of people that are working for you. People need to receive their payment at the end of the month. Nobody works for free in this life.

Day in day out, I have always done my work rightly: deliver activities on time, I´m never late, I do a good work and everyone in the company likes my job including you, so I don’t understand the reasons that caused this terrible situation.

Nowadays, my family needs my financial help to live. My salary is used to pay all the bills of the month. I have a little sister and I pay her school, buy clothes, toys, dolls, food, medicine, etc. She really needs me. You have a family too, and probably your salary is used for the benefit of them, so I hope that you understand my words.

I apologize if I was rude in this letter, but I am very worried. I believe that in life, we must do our best for people, and unfortunately you didn’t act this way. I wish you paid my salary as soon. My life is driven by honesty and I hope yours too.

Kind regards,

Fabiana

Pricila - Complaint letter

São Paulo , October 05.

Mrs. Brian Evans

I'm writing to inform you about a very strange situation. It has been already twenty days that I haven’t been paid. At first, I thought it was a mistake but after I observed that many employees hadn’t been paid too!! The employees of this factory chose me to represent them, and try to solve this problem!!

I know the factory is going through financial difficulty, but we need to pay the bills of our homes. Nobody was informed about the late payment and it is very serious!! We are ready to make a deal, and looking for a good solution for both parties!! If you don't pronounce about it, we will be obliged to go on strike!! I hope it will not be necessary and that all will be resolved peacefully.

Respectfully yours,

Pricila Barbosa

Patricia - Complaint letter

1524, Prof. Lineu Prestes Avenue

Butantã - São Paulo/SP - Brazil
Postcode: 05508-900

Phone: 555-3850

28 September 2011

Mr. Thomas Gray

The Administrative Officer
Alpha Enterprises
343, Alvarenga Avenue
Butantã - São Paulo/SP - Brazil
Postcode: 05578-900

Dear Mr. Thomas

I am writing to inform you of my dissatisfaction with the delayed payment of the employees this month. Every month the payment is made on the 5^th day, but this month there was a big delay that affected our bank accounts. This error put me in a difficult position, I particularly got into debt and I felt very embarrassed because I wasn´t able to fulfill my commitments.

To resolve this problem I would appreciate you could make the current payment with an additional sum, in order to correct my bank situation. I also suggest that the payment could be made through bank transfers instead of receiving cash at the department.

I'm afraid that if these conditions are not met, I may be forced to take legal action to receive the total amount of money with interest rates.

I look forward to your reply soon with a good explanation and proposal. I didn’t want things to be like that, but I have to demand my rights. Please contact me at the above address or by phone.

Yours sincerely,

Patrícia E. (Sales manager)

Rafael - Inventions

Biribol... What is it?

Biribol is a water sport similar to volleyball but played in a swimming pool. It was invented in the city of Birigui -that´s why the name is Biribol- by the teacher and undertaker Dario Miguel Pedro. Around 1950, Dario met with friends on weekends and looked for a way to have fun. Then he had the idea of to use the swimming pool of his house with two friends, and with a ball they started to play imagining a line that divided the swimming pool. With time the sport developed. And in 1968 the game was created with rules, official measures of the swimming pool and, of course, volleyball net. There are four players on each side.

This sport is very good for our health because it helps in our fitness and in keeping us fit. Moreover, it is very good for having fun in a hot summer day. However, Biribol is not very practiced in the winter unless in a heated swimming pool.

So, Biribol is an authentic Brazilian sport and nowadays there are some competitions around the state of São Paulo. Who knows one day Biribol can be in the Olympic Games?

Danielle - Biography

Francis Galton: Short biography of his last years

Francis Galton was a member of the Royal Society family and since his youth he was considered a prodigy child. In his family there were many scientists, among them Charles Darwin, who was his cousin.

Galton was a scientist of the XIX century that wrote more than 340 paper and several books. His studies were relevant for several scientific areas, such as meteorology, geography and statistic. However he devoted the last years of his life to eugeny, which contributed to the knowledge of human genetic years later.

Eugeny was one of the first studies that allowed to understand the physical and intellectual variability of human species. That theory is connected with the heredity, because the human features are shared by related, mainly parents and children and siblings. Heredity is essential for genetics fundaments.

In spite of the areas that Galton worked, the eugeny was really relevant for Genetics, which is based in the phenotype and genotype association. Therefore, knowing the variability of human characteristics, as described by Galton, could induce the geneticist to study the chromosomal variability. Then Galton was and is very important to science.

I chose to write about Galton because he was a great scientist and brought important contributions to genetics, making evident the biological variability. Genetic has allowed us to identify the cause of different diseases as well as several species that were morphologically classified as one unique species previously.

Anderson - Biography

Bruno C. Mota, or how to make a smart kid?

What is a star made of? What is the distance of the moon from Earth?... those types of questions were made by a little Luiza every night before going to bed, looking through the window. I want to marry an astronaut to go to Mars, she was used to say. Nice times... little Luiza became Lula, she went to the university and obviously, as it always happens, she never studied to answer the questions she used to ask when she was a child; sky was not the most important stuff on her life. By that time, questions like boyfriends and those kinds of relationships were the most important thing on her life, that is why she decided to make an experiment to date her nerd classmate, Paulo.

Paulo grew up in a normal family, with parents and siblings, he was always a smart guy and of course at the university, he was not going to change, he was still the smartest guy in class.

Lula and Paulo became boy and girlfriend for a while, until a really awful accident happened, Luiza was waiting for a paulinho... “Oh my god! how am I going to tell to Paulo?” was her question after knowing that she was pregnant... at the end, she wrote a note to Paulo, saying “I have something important to say to you, come to my house tonight.” When Paulo arrived, he noticed it was all dark; but when he opened the door he saw the faint light of the candles and Lula sat on the table with food around her. “Baby, something happened after that night we spent together, after the party of the university, I am not the same after that, I mean one plus one now is three, do you get it?” said Lula, and Paulo answers “we must to get married, we are on the 80’s and at this times people get married after that kind of accidents, we are not going to be the exception.”

Finally, on July 27th, 1983, in São Paulo, Brazil, little Bruno was born; a 6.5-pound baby with brown eyes and hair. His parents were very happy to have him in their lives. Since his first years, Bruno was really bright and alert, he was a quick learner, everything seemed so easy for him that his parents always felt proud. He began to grow and the questions about space became more and more making crazy his parents who didn’t fully understand anything about the sky, stars, planets. Lula and Paulo as really smart people decided to answer all their son’s questions by buying books and toys about astronomy including spaceships, astronauts figures and also an amateur telescope, which at the end became his best friend at nights.

As any different kid decided to study something that people use to say that is boring, Physics, and it was not enough, he continued with a master degree on Astrophysics. At the end, all of that study served for something: it answered the questions his mom used to ask when she was little Luiza.

Now Bruno is considered one of the best scientists around the world regarding the sky. He is so young to know too much about stars, but there is an explanation, he has never been to a party, he spent all of his time studying and every night looking at the stars’ position, he did not have time to go to parties on Friday night. He was called to be part the directory of the national observatory of Chile, “La Silla”, now he must be at USP studying his PhD about the sky, to continue being one of the best in his research area. Maybe someday he will try to make the same experiment his mother did with his father... to have a family... but something is certain, he will be nominated for the Nobel Prize soon.

Rodrigo - Inventions

One of the most important inventions of the 20th century was the internet, that was invented in the 60's by the U.S.A. military. It was during the cold war, witch divided the world in two parts: one capitalist, the Americans and other socialist, the Russians. The Americans were afraid of an imminent attack by the russians at their information base, and because of this, after much research, the internet was invented.

The internet changed the way we live, currently almost everyone is connected almost all the time. The number and the speed that the information comes to us is almost unbelievable. With the internet we can do a lot of things in the comfort of our home. With the social networks like facebook, myspace, orkut, we find a lot of old friends, we make new friends, we are always in contact with our friends and family. With the webcam and programs like skype we can see and speak with everyone, everywhere.

Of course not everything is perfect in the internet's world. The internet, like anything, has a limit for use it. Some people get addicted and forget how to live in the reality. Nowadays we often send an email to people that are in the other side of the aisle instead of go there and talk face to face with the person . Another problem is the sedentary, more and more the internet facilitates our lives and because of this we do not have to leave our homes to do anything, everything you want, you can ask by the internet and comes home, without you leaving your chair.

So, in my opinion the internet revolutionized the world, after its invention the life style of all people has changed, and like every invention, the internet should be used for the good of the people, and with no exaggeration.

Marcelo - Inventions

The Phone

Many people say "Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone", but it is not true, who invented the telephone was Antonio Meucci in 1860. Meucci was Italian. He invented it because he needed to talk to his wife, who was sick and she always stood upstairs in their house.

The main benefit of the phone is to talk with other people in real time, even if the person is in the other side of the world, and talk by the phone is cheap.

The downside is that people talk a lot on the phone and they don't visit their friends and family, so people became more impersonal.

In my opinion, the phone helps a lot, the benefits are better than the downsides, but I think that the internet is going to replace the phone, the internet is easier to use and cheaper too.

Braulio - Biography

Gregori Perelman and Millenium Prize.

Grigory Yakoslevich Perelman was born on June 13, 1966 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His father’s name is Yakov and his mother’s name is Lubov. They are a Jewish

family. Perelman has been learning mathematics since 1975, when his talent was appearing.

The Poincaré conjecture, proposed by great French mathematician Henri Poincaré in 1904, was the most famous open problem in Mathematics. The problem is,

roughly speaking, about characterization of the three dimensional sphere. In 1999, the Clay Mathematics Institute announced the Millennium Prize Problems, in other words, US$1,000,000 prize for the proof of any of the seven conjectures. Only the Poincaré conjecture has been solved in 2002 by Grigori Perelman, that declined the award.

In May 2006, a mathematician committee voted to award Perelman a Field Medal for his work. The Field Medal is the highest award in mathematics, like Nobel Prize in Science. However, Perelman declined the prize again. He was the first person to decline these prestigious prizes. In Perelman words:

“I’m not interested in money or fame”. “Everybody understood that if the proof is correct, then no other recognition is needed”.

The last news about him is that he is unemployed, living with his mother in a small house in Petersburg. Nowadays, Perelman is known to be the most intelligent and weirdest person of the World.

Flávia - Biography

Marie Curie

She was born in the capital of Poland in Warsaw on November 7, 1867. When she was young, she moved to Paris with the financial help of her sister.

She graduated in first position in Mathematics and Physics at University of Paris in Sorbonne. She was the first woman to teach at this prestigious school.

She married the professor of Physics Pierre Curie in 1895 and then adopted the name of Marie Curie, and before her marriage she was called Maria Sklokowska.

In 1896, Henri Becquerel encouraged her to study the radiation emission of uranium salts. With her husband, Marie began to study the materials that produced the radiation, looking for new material with the hypothesis that it should exist in certain minerals. Indeed, in 1898 they deduced that explanation: there were certainly some components that would release more energy than uranium, then on December 26, 1898, Marie Curie announced the discovery of this new substance to the Academy of Sciences in Paris.

With Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, she received the Nobel Prize of the Physics in 1903, in recognition of extraordinary services obtained in their investigations of the radiation phenomena, three years after they identified the radioactive elements polonium and radium. She was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize.

Pierre was appointed professor at the University of Paris in Sorbonne in 1904 and he began researching for x-rays.

In 1906, she succeeded her husband in the chair of General Physics at the University, after he died.

In 1911, she received the Nobel Prize of Chemistry. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given her in the same year that the Academy of Sciences in Paris rejected her as a partner.

She was the first person to receive two Nobel Prizes in different fields. The only other person was Linus Pauling, but Marie Curie was the only person to win two Nobel Prizes in science.

Marie Curie died of leukemia in 1934, surely because of the massive exposure to radiation during their work. In 1995 her remains were transferred to the Pantheon in Paris, becoming the first woman to be buried at this site.

In my opinion, she was a person who left her mark on science, even in an age so full of prejudice and sexist. She showed the world that women are as able as men to perform a scientific function. Many other women do not even have a chance to study, or have the opportunity to take a scientific position. I'm sure that our planet has lost a lot because there has been prejudice in science.

Silvia - Inventions

Composition: An important invention. (final version)

I used to think that the telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell but after a little research, we can see that many scientists dispute the credit for this invention. But as usual the Americans Elisa Gray and A. Graham Bell have become the best known.

The telephone emerged from the creation of the electrical telegraph. Though the early researches of the telegraph were from the fourteenth century, in the seventeenth century many scientists in many countries were searching for other ways of sending multiple telegraph messages simultaneously over a single telegraph wire by using different modulated audio frequencies for each message and these efforts led directly to the invention of the telephone, or 'the speaking telegraph'.

The invention of the telephone made people closer at a time when transports had not been developed yet. At the beginning, they were heavy and the sound was not so clear. In the course of time, they became much lighter and achieved a better performance.

The disadvantage of the telephone is that it needs wires to connect people. That’s why nowadays we may have much more cell phones than telephones. Another disadvantage is that it is not so secure. If somebody wants, he can hear our conversation without our awareness.

I chose to tell you about the telephone because in my opinion it can be considered one of the most important invention in the whole telecommunication development process.

Fabiani - Tabloid Article

For the first time Flávia Macionni admits the use of botox!

After being seen several times in one of the most famous aesthetic clinics of São Paulo Macionni admitted during the week, on a news site, that she had already made use of botox. It’s however doubtful and uncertain how long the diva has been making use of botox. Asked about it, she replied that it was the first application that she made. However, sources report that the scientist and now actress does applications for more than 10 years already.

This however, is not the first controversy in which Macionni is referenced. The actress seems to be going through a bad phase in her career. Some fans say that in her shows Macionni doesn’t meet anyone else for photos and autographs.

Gossip has it that the actress had undergone a rehabilitation treatment due to alcohol addiction for more than a year, which would explain its ups and downs in her mood and her less frequent performance.

Apparently, this doesn’t seem to be a good time for the Diva. The question is whether Macionni will overcome this bad phase or whether he will fall into the same mood of most of the artists after they achieve success.

Pricila - Inventions

The invention of the computer.

There is not just one inventor of the computer, as the ideas of many scientists and engineers led to its invention. These ideas were developed in the 1930s and 1940s, mostly in an independent way, in Germany, Great Britain and the USA, and were turned into a working machine. In Germany, Konrad Zuse hit upon the idea of building a program-controlled calculating machine, when he had to deal with extensive calculations in statistics. In 1935, he began to design a program-controlled calculating machine in his parents' home in Berlin. This was the grandfather of our computers.

In modern times, the computer is very important. It’s used both for leisure and for work! We can know the world using the computer and have fun! We can store photos, music, work, etc.

The disadvantage of the computer is that sometimes people don't go out and have fun to use the computer. The computer is a technology that is always moving forward, we have new computers every year, with new programs and types. Thus, the computers we buy today is will probably be outdated in a few months. In my opinion, the computer is very important to most people in the world! One of the most usefull tools developed for the computer is the internet, it helps us to communicate with people, make friends, have fun, etc. I could not live without the computer.

Patricia - Inventions

The refrigerator: a useful and interesting invention of the modern world. One of the most notable inventions we use daily at our homes is the refrigerator, also called fridge. Its history is very interesting but a little bit confusing, because there are a lot of people involved in the creation of this household appliance. The first known artificial refrigeration system was demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748.However, he didn´t use his discovery for anything. In 1805, an American inventor called Oliver Evans, designed the first vapor-compression refrigeration machine, but only in 1834, Jacob Perkins modified Evans' original design, building the world's first refrigerator and filing the first legal patent for refrigeration using vapor-compression. In 1918, William C. Durant started the Frigidaire Company in order to begin the first mass production of refrigerators. Until then, the refrigerating system needed to use some flammable and toxic gases and only on 1980s more efficient refrigerators were developed providing a safer and low-toxic device. The great advantage of having a fridge at home is the reduction of spoilage of foodstuff. It permits people to eat more fruits, vegetables and meat that can be stored for longer periods. Keeping the food and drinks in the fridge is healthy and hygienic because it decreases the reproduction rate of bacteria. Another advantage we can mention is the duration of the product. Some fridges can last for more than 10 years with a good performance. A disadvantage of fridges, nowadays, is the great energy expenditure because it needs to be plugged 24hs a day. Despite some modern models being equipped with a thermostat that can control the temperature and turn off the freezing system, it is still very expensive to maintain a refrigerator. Finally, the refrigerator is such a miracle of the modern world that we sometimes don´t give it the deserved recognition. In my opinion, every the little thing that can make our life easier and healthier must be valued. The fridge can be a common and silly thing for many people, but try to live without one to see how difficult it is.

Caroline - Inventions

Cell phone – the most important invention.

I think that the most important invention is the cell phone. It was invented by Bell Labory in the USA in 1947, but it was impractical comparing to what is considered a portable handset today. The cell phone weighed 80 pounds (36 kg), and the AT&T service, basically a massive party line, cost US$30 per month (equal to $337.33 today) plus 30–40 cents per local call, equal to $3.37 to $4.5 today.

Nowadays, you don`t need to ask me why the cell phone is so fantastic because everybody uses it to talk with somebody, play games, listen to music, take pictures, surf the web, in other words, to do everything.

However, you can ask me why I chose the cell phone to write about, since we have a lot of good inventions like the car, the subway and the internet, etc. I `ll tell you. The cell phone connects people and the world. We use it to study, work or just relax. You can see people with cell phones in all the places: streets, parks, subways, cars, schools, even, in other countries! Cell phones are cheap! Everyone has one, it`s accessible and portable! You can write a quick text message if you need to say something but you can`t make a call. This is very common in the cinema, a meeting or in the traffic.

The best of everything is: The scientists couldn`t produce any evidence that the cell phone is dangerous to the health. The only thing that we need to concern about it is the addiction in teenagers that use the cell phone to everything during all the day, but this is a surmountable problem, as parents tend to put limits on cell phone bills. Now I need to ask you. Do you thing it`s possible to use the cell phone for a short time? Consider how many functions it has. Can you imagine the world without the cell phone?