Betrayal’s Pride

Betrayal’s Pride

They say that hope is brighter

Than any other feeling all around.

But then, someone feels smarter

And hits you ‘till you are broken on the ground.

And you were only asking

For some misunderstanding to unfold

But they continue laughing

Which makes the world to feel a little cold.

They claim to have been hurt

But wounds inside your heart are far beyond.

The blindness of their hearts

Are only but reflections of their souls.

It’s then when dissapointment

Makes pain to to feel less painful than it was.

Few things are more distressing

Than hate from them who are supposed to love.

The Unfulfilling Void

There’s a wide and deep, dark cosmos all around.

And the sound of splitting galaxies in it.

Every corner has been filled with blazing stars,

And the solemn, mystic gravity spreads on.

With a mathematic order fall the rocks

Which together form the planets, moons and suns.

In this chaos reigns the order of the void.

On this order falls the chaos of the night.

When the nights are bravely beaten by the light,

Comes the sun that leaves no hidden craft behind.

And the creatures that are living far beyond,

Live their days less in reality than mind.

Since societies praise Sin over the Law,

And the stomach of the World is full of us,

Then the cruelty of the souls will rise again

Over people, plants and animals. And life.

And when thinking on what still remains to explore,

And your focus on a single matter lasts,

With the many possibilities ahead

Comes the truth: that we are living just one life.

The Spark

The Spark that lit the fire was to blame;

The hand that stole the fire was the accomplice.

The punishment imposed was cruel and mean;

The wrath that came before was disproportioned.

The creature must obey the path of gods.

Then gods are just but mere puppet masters.

Disaster will befall the one who walks

Outside the way that’s traced beforehand by them.

'Yes, mimicry is a crime, but act like we say.

Don’t overpass the line or we will slay thee'

'The fame, the glory and wealth is just for great ones.

Don’t be pretentious then and bring this tea cup.'

You are one of those who came to serve the high ones.

To expect to reach their fate could mean your swan song.

Don’t try to be like them or they will smash you,

Abase and live in calm as just one sheep more.

The Titan was, hence, chained to purge his big sin:

The Caucasus would handle his pretentions.

Now Zeus could rest his mind and bear no worries:

His throne will not be usurped by someone lesser.

When lesser beings are way more humble than them,

And they are worse but hide their narrow crimes well;

When “lesser beings” could aim their targets higher,

But “gods” destroy their humble work with anguish.

“Uneasy lays the head that wears a crown”

(The Bard, about a Henry called the fourth one)

The fear of those who grapple the undeserved,

Is fueled by those who may deserve it better.

The Spark that lit the fire was a tool;

The hand that stole the fire was deserving.

The punishment imposed was out of fear;

The wrath that came before was just but nonesense.

The Coldest Flame

The Coldest Flame 

-Doctor Who Short Story-

The Doctor landed his time machine in what he promised it was The Frozen Moon of Psalmanazar. Clara had wanted to go there from the moment the Doctor described it to her for the first time: it was an enormous planet all frozen in an eternal winter. The woods were covered with crystal trees naturally built with ice. The lakes, rivers and oceans were like if they have been created out of the finest of the glasses and the hue of the landscape was even whiter than the arctic itself.

            But when the doors of the Tardis were opened by the Doctor they found a scene quite different from what they expected: they were in a volcanic place, much hotter than the frozen marvel described by the Doctor. If the landscape of Psalmanazar could be described as the coldest in the whole universe, the one they were beholding should be the hottest among all.

            -Doctor, -said Clara in a disappointed tone. –I thought you said ice…

            -Yes, yes! You know… If the Tardis decides to go to another place, we go to another place: that’s a universal truth, I’m afraid… Someone must be in need of our help…

            -But, Doctor, there is zero conditions for life to develop out there! Who is going to live here?

            From the shades and the ashes which remained when the smoke had partially vanished, a creature emerged. It was slimmer than the slimmest of the human beings, taller than the tallest of the giraffes and its face was eclipsed behind the darkest eyes the Doctor had ever seen. The fearful symmetry of its face provoked in Clara an intense fear.

            -Doctor, what do we do? –Asked Clara very afraid.

            -First condition: If you threaten us, I will defeat you! –Shout the Doctor to the creature. –Second condition: If I were you, I would tell my intentions as soon as possible! And third condition..!

            -If I had wanted to hurt you, I would not have let you see me come… -interrupted the creature. - I need your help… a big disaster had occurred…

What you have just read is an activity designed for my students of 1º Bachillerato in order to introduce them to the conditionals, comparatives and superlatives. The activity has been extracted from a didactic unit I fully designed for the Máster en Formación de Profesorado de Secundaria of the University of Alicante.

UN TENSO ENFRENTAMIENTO

El odio que se profesaban era más que patente.

Aquel día se cruzaron, como era habitual, uno frente al otro, en un cruce, por no perder la costumbre, bajo una lumbre que cruza la calle de punta a punta. Sus rostros se maceraban en contenidos arrebatos de ira, el rechinar de sus dientes desgastaba sus premolares cual si de equinas dentaduras gaélicas se trataran.

No había un motivo en particular para el desprecio que recíprocamente se dedicaban, simplemente se odiaban. Pero lo cierto es que  Mr. Lipinegg era el verdadero despojo humano de entre los contemplativos contendientes, pues era por todos sabido que era ave de mala calaña, negra oveja de blanco rebaño, nutria gorda de flaca proveniencia.

Mr. Lipinegg era de esos fantoches mal avenidos que gustaba de hacer ver que era lo contrario: fantasmada tras fantasmada trataba de sostener una fachada que sólo él se creía. Y fingía que creía que los demás creían lo que él creía que los demás creían que él creía que creía. Creo.

Más no obstante, en un instante, se ganó la antipatía de la inmensa mayoría de todo el que allí vivía. Y se lo merecía. Pero de entre todo el que algún día odio le profesó, no había otro que más le profesara que el respetado Conde Cockintongue.

Y es por eso que aquel día, supo que todo llegaba a su fin, que de allí no pasaba, que aquel cenutrio de aquella se acordaba. Es por tanto que el Conde se sintió en la responsabilidad de que el acto fuera memorable, de que supusiese un ultraje tal que ofendiera a Mr. Lipinegg a semejante nivel que aquel no se atreviese a alzar de nuevo la vista hacia los ojos de su archienemigo el Conde nunca más.

En busca de las palabras precisas para desacreditar a aquel patán desagradable, Dick Cockintongue exprimió su cultivado seso rastreando una cita literaria,  un referente, las palabras de un sabio, o quizás un proverbio que sirviese para desacreditar al infame haragán de una vez por todas.

Pero el tiempo se agotaba, el batracio se apropaba y los segundos se escapaban imponiendo el fin de la barrunta y el paso a la acción del Conde Cockintongue. Tras los últimos instantes y cayendo en la cuenta de lo que no se había dado cuenta antes, a la altura del cenizo, se bajó los pantalones, quedó el otro sorprendido, de orgullo henchido se rascó el Conde los cojones, apretó cual se aprieta a un ser querido, se abrieron paso entre sus nalgas dos mojones, el otro quedó cual mal herido, se cagó un tanto en los talones y terminó su empresa complacido.

Estupefacto, parpadeó tras ver un tracto el aborrecible Lipinegg. Aún con los pantalones bajados, de gran cantidad de mierda anegado –pantorrillas y talón manchados- aguardaba enfrente el respetable Conde Cockintongue, con el mismo semblante inmutable y serio que había mantenido durante toda la demostración de poseer un intelecto superior.

El otro, tan pronto pudo, pirose del lugar por la dirección de la que venía. Nunca más molestaría al Conde. Nunca más lo haría.

Experimento con Tar Heel Reader

Doctor Who: Ghosts of Steel

Ghosts of Steel

by Jose M. Payá

Este es otro de mis experimentos. Descubrí Tar Heel Reader durante mi tiempo en el Máster de Profesorado y este es el resultado de mi primera interacción con la misma. Todas las imágenes pertenecen a la BBC y no poseo los derechos de ninguna de ellas. Esto es una creación sin ánimo de lucro llevada a cabo como homenaje a la magnífica serie Doctor Who.

The Teacher's Teacher

The Teacher's Teacher

The widest smile peeked my face, turning even more pronounced every time I thought about the adventure that awaited me: all space and time to roam, a thousand worlds to discover.

And in all my wanderings, always a common element, the main attraction: the Doctor. For one does not venture into an unfamiliar museum without a guide, the experience is always better with a "Cicerone" to shed light where the untrained eye finds only darkness.

-Clara, Clara ... -He said with a naughty smile as I entered the Tardis. He extended the pause to enjoy the anticipation. The anticipation to the rest of what, we both knew, he was going to say. What he always says and I like so much to hear. -Where are we going?

My smile could not be bigger. The Doctor took the Tardis' controls and touched, and pushed dozens of many-colored gadgets -I have always suspected that even he ignores what they do- and in an instant it was today and the next it was the unknown and remote tomorrow. We were years in the future in a strange destination.

-I think you'll like what you gonna see, Clara. You know...? I have brought you to space, we have been in a submarine of the Soviet Union, we saw the Rings Akhaten ... And yet I have never showed you how will your job be in the future.

The Doctor opened the door and a white and impressive light filled the room of the Tardis' main console.

-¡Welcome to Coal Hill, year 2063!

I was completely shocked when I saw my usual place of work a few decades in the future: it was the same building but different. I found it amazing how in so few years everything could progress so much: everything had changed but everything was the same. And among all the changes, I found something that had always been there: the main entrance with the same placard that had been there all of these years. When seeing that detail I felt at home despite being many years in the future: despite many changes occur, there must always be a respect for the essence so that the original value is not lost.

By accessing the interior we witnessed the most diverse wonders: in a class, students wore helmets, like virtual reality glasses. And they learned history as witnesses of the historic event. In another, the guys designed high-tech gadgets using a projection system showing the prototype in 3D and in real time, suspended in the air in front of its designers. We even saw how students of all ages had a kind of electronic folder with access to a global knowledge network. Through it, they could download packages of knowledge directly to a device worn around their heads. But above all, we always find in each class, whatever the subject was, leaving aside the amazing technological advantages, a recurring and very familiar element: a teacher.

-Thank you for bringing me here, Doctor. It has helped me to confirm something I've always suspected. -I said to the Doctor.- No matter how much time could pass, how many aeons elapsed and how much the technology improves: we will always need teachers to guide us through the unknown paths.

My eyes drowned with tears as the Doctor understood what I had you just said. He held the emotion and our eyes met, recognizing, each one in the other, his teacher of life. No need to say anything, we walked back to the Tardis, while our smiles widened to infinity.

The Teacher's Teacher (Español)

Una amplia sonrisa asomaba a mi semblante y se pronunciaba todavía más cada vez que recordaba la aventura que me esperaba: todo el espacio y el tiempo por recorrer, mil universos por descubrir.

Y en todas las andaduras siempre un elemento común, el aliciente principal: el Doctor. Y es que uno no se adentra en un museo que desconoce sin un guía, la experiencia es siempre mejor con un "Cicerone" que aporte luz donde la mirada inexperta solo halla oscuridad.

-Clara, Clara... -Dijo con una traviesa sonrisa mientras yo entraba a la Tardis. Alargó la pausa para disfrutar la anticipación al resto de lo que ambos sabíamos que iba a decir, lo que siempre dice y a mí me gusta tanto oír. 

-¿Dónde vamos?

Mi sonrisa ya no podía ser más grande. El Doctor tomó los mandos de la Tardis y tocó decenas de variopintos artilugios -siempre he sospechado que hasta él ignora qué es lo que hacen- y en un instante estábamos en la actualidad y al siguiente en un destino incógnito y remoto.

-Creo que te gustará lo que vas a ver, Clara. ¿Sabes...? Te he llevado al espacio, hemos estado en un submarino de la Unión Soviética, vimos los Anillos de Akhaten... Y sin embargo nunca te he enseñado cómo será tu oficio en el futuro.

El Doctor abrió la puerta y una blanca e imponente luz inundó la estancia de la consola principal de la Tardis.

-¡Bienvenida a Coal Hill, año 2063!

Quedé completamente pasmada al ver mi lugar habitual de trabajo unas décadas en el futuro: era el mismo edificio pero distinto. Me resultaba asombroso como en tan pocos años podía avanzar todo tanto: todo había cambiado pero todo estaba igual. Y entre todos los cambios encontré algo que siempre había estado allí: la entrada principal con el mismo cartel de siempre. Al ver ese detalle me sentí como en casa a pesar de estar muchos años en el futuro: por muchos cambios que se produzcan siempre debe haber un respeto por la esencia para que no se pierda el valor original.

Al acceder al interior fuimos testigos de las más diversas maravillas: en una clase, los alumnos llevaban cascos, parecidos a las gafas de realidad virtual. Y aprendían Historia como testigos presenciales del acontecimiento histórico. En otra, los chicos diseñaban artilugios de alta tecnología mediante un sistema de proyección que mostraba el prototipo en 3D y en tiempo real, suspendido en el aire frente a sus diseñadores. Incluso vimos cómo todos los estudiantes de todas las edades contaban con una especie de carpeta electrónica con acceso a una red de conocimiento global a través de la cual podían descargar paquetes de conocimiento directamente a un dispositivo que llevaban alrededor de su cabeza. Pero, ante todo, siempre encontramos en cada clase, fuera cual fuese la materia, dejando al margen los sorprendentes avances tecnológicos, un elemento recurrente y muy familiar: un profesor.

-Gracias por haberme traído aquí, Doctor. Me ha servido para confirmar algo que siempre he sospechado, -Dije al Doctor.- y es que pase el tiempo que pase, por mucho que transcurran los eones y mejore la tecnología, siempre necesitaremos maestros que nos guíen por los senderos desconocidos.

Mis ojos se anegaron de lágrimas mientras el Doctor comprendía lo que le acababa de decir. Contuvo la emoción y nuestras miradas se cruzaron reconociendo, cada uno en el otro, a su maestro de la vida. Sin necesidad de decir nada, caminamos de vuelta a la Tardis, mientras nuestras sonrisas se ampliaron hasta el infinito.