Spanis into English: ... "...es cuando MÁS se alimentan" How can I say this in English "...es cuando MÁS se alimentan" in this sentence: these fish (wrasses) are more active at sunrise and at daybreak, that it's when they feed... What I mean is they feed during the whole day but specially at that range of the day. Shall I say ... more often?? Thanks in advance!! :)

PAULA by Isabel Allende Isabel Allende has hypnotized and fascinated the readers all over the world with her own mixture of magic realism, politics and romance. In her book "Paula" she has created a masterful work, a powerful autobiography which will transport the readers into spiritual and magic worlds, bringing to mind her first book "The house of the spirits". Paula is a book of memories that leaves the soul uncovered, as a suspense novel that can be read without breathing. The starting point of these moving pages is a tragic personal experience. In December, 1991, Paula, Isabel Allende's daughter, become seriously ill and soon after she goes into coma. During the months she was in hospital, the writer started writing the history of her family for her daughter, who remained unconscious. In the novel, the estrange ancestors appear before our eyes, we can hear both delightful and gloomy childhood memories, unbelievable anecdotes from their youth and the most intimate secrets that have been ever shared in a low voice. Chile, the native country of Allende, also comes to life with the turbulent history of the 1973 military coup, the dictatorship that followed and the years of exile of her family. This novel, written like an exorcism of death(1); Allende explores the past and questions the Gods. The result is a frenetic magic book that takes the reader from tears to laughter, from terror to the sensuality and to the wisdom. The glorious characters of Allende's fiction: clairvoyants, revolutionary, and above all, the inquisitive woman that moves forward through the story, populate this autobiography, that has been established like one of the most works of Allende. (1) Exorcismo de la muerte

THE CONSUMERIST VALUES - Happiness & Money In this entry about "Happiness & Money" I'd like to lay emphasis on that money cannot give or take away happiness, but what I really want to refer is that "consume cannot be equal to happiness". It's simply, the materialism and consumerism cannot be a reason for living. People dress to please, to impress, to attract, to stand out, to protest, to conform...They need to feel they are among the elects. Do you really want to be just that lady on the cover of a magazine, always being aware of phasion and paying crazy prices for things that designers have decided you need? Are you sure, you're willing to work hard to spend all your money and make these people rich, even more than they already are, meanwhile they are deciding from their mansion in the Blue Coast what things will be "indispensable" for you to buy next spring-summer? Are you sure you want to be a slave? The science of advertising and marketing has become one of the brightness business, up to the point of making us to spend our whole life, working to be able to pay for those things we would never buy if we would be living alone in a small dessert island with nobody else to show off our latest model, house or car. All those who are trapped in the spiral of consumerism lose their own identity, mixing up what they possess and what they are. We consume objects and services as a symbol of the status we'd like to achieve in order to satisfy and gratify our own ambitions. Companies' Managers wearing "Lacouste" and taking golf, tennis, polo lessons because they're considered sports for rich, so good for business. Going out with friends for dinner after vacation becomes a nightmare, in which the main issue to talk about is the more expensive trip or the more exotic place they have travel to, although they had to borrow money to the bank. Human values and ethics have been sacrificed behind a consumerist capitalist society, where a privileged part squanders and consumes compulsively, and the other part, not so fortunate, lives in the deepest misery. I think it'd be good for all of us to go on holidays to a foreign country, at least once in our life, not to go shopping, drinking and staying in a 4 stars all-inclusive hotel but for helping as a volunteer to those who fight everyday to get the essentials for living. I believe, once we are back, we will appreciate much more what it's important and what is not, since we've expanded our small hick view, both, of the world and of the real needs.

Curious, isn't it? Did you know that...? 1/ KANGAROO There is a legend about the origin of this name. It seems that in the past, British people asked an Australian aborigine they saw for the very first time, about the name of this animal, and he said "Kan-Guh-Ru", which result in "kangaroo". The English name of this animal. However "Kan-Guh-Ru" means "I did not understand" :-) 2/ SEX IN THE ANCIENT ENGLAND Information on history of Ancient England explains that, in order to be able to have sex it was necessary to ask for permission to the King, who authorized by means of a plaque that said "Fornication Under Consent of the King" (F.U.C.K.), which gave origin to this word. 3/ THE MEANING OF THE WORD "OK" During the American Civil War, when the troops went back at their barracks without any injury, they used to write in a big blackboard "0 Killed", so that's where "OK" comes from. 4/ THE TRUTH When ancient Romans had to say the truth in a trial, instead of swear on the Bible as they currently do, they had to do it squeezing their testicles with the right hand. The word "testify" come from that old costume. 5/ EQUESTRIAN STATUES Did you know that there is a connection between the number of the horse's legs that are supported on the floor and the way the rider died in battle. If the horse has both front legs in air, that means the rider died in battle. If it is only one of them, the rider dies due to battle injuries. However if the horse got all the legs on the floor, the rider died by natural causes. Curious, isn't it?

My favorite writer: Isabel Allende, which has contributed to the beauty of the world Isabel Allende was born in Lima in 1942, she studied journalism in Chile and she had to go into exile to Venezuela after the military coup against her uncle Salvador Allende. Since the publication, in 1982, of "the House of the spirits", her novels and stories have achieved a big sales success, going through the sphere of the boundaries of the Castilian/Spanish language. Some of her main notable narrative works are Eva Luna, Paula and The infinite plan. Her first novel, The house of the spirits, written in 1982, was an immediate success that became an internationally bestselling, which was translated into different languages. In this book, Isabel Allende tries to rescue the memory of the past, by means of the story of three different generations of Chilean, since the beginning of the XX century to the 60's decade. The shaft of this saga is Esteban Trueba, a humble miner that manages to thrive becoming one of the most powerful landowner. After his frustrating marriage with Rosa, who dies poisoned by mistake, he marries her sister. Clara, incompetent for anything in connection with the household tasks but endowed with a fanciful hypersensitivity and an estrange clairvoyance: she can interpret dreams and predict the future with a surprising accuracy. The Esteban's brutality, lewd man with a very irascible character, will undermine little by little this hardly reconcilable marriage and the conflicts will also spread to their children and grandchildren. The novel goes through, over the years, the evolution of the social changes and ideological of the country, without losing sight of the personal unexpected events -sometimes mysterious- of this family saga. We will find appearing on the scene the new technological advances, customs changes, the "new socialist ideas" as could be the women's emancipation, stories of communist ghost, psychics, resulting in the victory of the socialism and the subsequent military coup. All these "social convulsions" will affect the Esteban Trueba family - whose members have always some extravagant and disproportionate characters- with different nuances of drama and violence. The old landowner age, and with him, the way of seeing the world based on the power, the honor code and the revenge. The Los Angeles Times has called Allende "a genius", and she has received many international awards including the prestigious Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, granted to writers "who have contributed to the beauty of the world.

Did you know that laughing put the brain into meditation mode? According to recent studies, researches assure that this could be a good reason for laughing more and that could also result in memory improvement and reduced damaging effect of stress on the body. Laughter can help to minimize the damage produced by the stress hormones. Stress produces cortisol, also called "stress hormone". A hormone that increases the level of sugar in blood, suppresses the immune system and can negatively affect memory and the learning capacity of elderly. At the same time, it can contribute to a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Winning the battle against cortisol is possible with humor. Laughing or just enjoying a little humor increases endorphin and dopamine release in brain, causing a feeling of pleasure and reward. These positive and beneficial neurochemical changes, in turn, make the immune system works better. Also memory and recall are expanded. So bring more laugh into your life!!!

Several reasons to start swimming tomorrow (2/2) According to the different type of stroke, swimming is divided into four styles: butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. And even though, this sport is highly recommended to everyone, however individual skills and physical fitness should be taken into consideration, before planning a routine. Over-demanding workouts routines or incorrect techniques can lead to painful injuries that can become chronic. Therefore, in order to reduce and prevent any possible risk of injury and pain, the different styles should be alternated to compensate for the continued repetitions of movements. Injuries like the "swimmer's shoulder" or "breaststroke knee" are very common. Butterfly stroke (fly) is considered the most difficult and the most impressive of the four styles. This is because you need a complete coordination from head to foot. Strong arms and a powerful kick is required. But, be careful, because this won't be enough to perform a correct fly stroke without suffering any injuries. A lack of body undulation and dolphin kick, certainly will end in some important lower back injuries as well as in the neck. So next time you swim in front of a very pretty girl that you want to impress, just think twice ...and choose very carefully the style you want to swim.