George Orwell

Eric Arthur Blair was born on June 25th 1903 in Motihari, Bihar India (then a British colony). When he was one year old Eric and his mother moved to England. He went to the Anglican parish school of Henley-on-Thames, St. Cyprian’s school in Sussex and Eton College. Corporal punishment was common and possibly a source of his initial resentment towards authority. Eric Arthur Blair is better known under the pseudonym George Orwell. Orwell was journalist and political author.

Soon after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Orwell volunteered to fight for the Republicans against Franco's Nationalist uprising. Orwell was shot in the neck in 1937, an experience he described in his short essay "Wounded by a Fascist Sniper".

Eric Arthur Blair: "The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it."

During most of his career Orwell was best known for his journalism, both in the British press and in books of reportage such as Homage to Catalonia. Contemporary readers are more often introduced to Orwell as a novelist, particularly through his enormously successful titles Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell is also known for his insights about the political implications of the use of language.

Birthday

Yey, my birthday is in three days!

On September 17th I turn eighteen! My boyfriend is taking me to see "Raske menn" in Oslo. "Raske menn" is a very funny Norwegian stand up-group. I am really excited!

Another thing, the election in Norway is today. It is my first time to vote so that is pretty cool as well!

Inglorious basterds

A couple of weeks ago I saw one of the best films I have ever seen! I am a huge Tarantino fan and I think his latest film "Inglorious basterds" is his best one yet.

The plot is set in Nazi-occupied France during World War II. A group of Jewish-American soldiers, "The Basterds", are spreading fear throughout the Third Reich by hunting Nazis. Brad Pitt plays the leader of "The Basterds" as Aldo Raine and he does an excellent job in my opinion. A French-Jewish girl who runs a movie theater in Paris also has a plan including killing Nazis and she crosses paths with "The Basterds".

I absolutely loved this film. It is very funny and incredibly exciting! So if you have not seen it yet I suggest you do not make any other plans for this Friday because it is an absolutely must-see-movie!

You can watch the trailer to the film here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sQhTVz5IjQ

Siegfried Sassoon

- Siegfried Sassoon was a decorated soldier
- His poem “Does it matter?” created a sort of shock
- WW1 soldiers thought the war would be different
- Sassoon said that in the beginning it was a war of defence but it became a war of aggression
- Sassoon was on a hospital for the mentally ill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3-qSV6zPDE

“Does it matter?”

The three effects of the war on a soldier the poem "Does it matter?" touch on are:
-losing your legs
-loosing your sight
-loosing your dreams

The soldiers feel that their country does not care if they loose their legs, sight and dreams.

This poem by Siegfried Sassoon probably has enjoyed a bit of a revival because of the soldiers that are being sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Me and my hometown

Hi everybody!

My name is Hanne and I am a 17 year old girl from Norway. I created this blog because my English-teacher told me I had to. I am supposed to write about social studies but first I will tell you something about myself and where I live.

My life started on September 17, 1991 in the capital of Norway which is of course Oslo. I lived in the center of the town for about one year until my parents decided to move right outside of Oslo to a place called Baerum. I am very happy with their decision because Baerum have been a great place to grow up. It is one of the richest townships in Norway and people living here are known for being snobby and full of theirselves. If I am visiting some friends on the country I try to avoid the question "Were are you from?" If I can't avoid it I tell them I live just outside Oslo. I do this because when people hear I'm from Baerum they make assumptions and it can be kind of tireing to hear what they think about me before they even know my last name.

But enough about that! I love listening to music, watching crap-TV and good movies and hanging out with my friends and boyfriend. In the summer I lay on the beach, barbecue and party. And in the winter I freeze and ride snowboard :-)
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