The elephant in the room 1/2 Had Darwin never been born, religion would be in better shape today. Well, this statement is not necessarily true, appearances can be deceptive and neither is atheism a spin-off of modern times, nor is religion even in decline. Despite the fact that Charles Darwin is widely regarded as the father of evolutionism and thus of atheism, the rise of disbelief in the modern world has ancient roots. In other words, it is as old as the hills. However, it is small wonder that atheism has not turned up trumps. Although there is no scientific evidence of the supernatural, mankind tendency to believe the unbelievable is an immemorial custom. This deeply ingrained behaviour has been, is and will be inseparable part of human beings. Apparently, people need to believe in something, true or false. The paradoxical nature of any kind of religion is basically incontestable, and as yet neither the Greeks nor Science have been capable of convincing believers that living in blissful ignorance could be tantamount to squandering a whole life. Should it exist a highly controversial subject, it is without doubt the struggle between Science and religion. I understand that no one should be able to judge others on account of their beliefs, but it is no less true that religious justice has historically done a great disservice to their own devotees. https://unoforeverenglish.blogspot.com.es/2017/04/thought-22-elephant-in-room.html

A dog’s life I’d always had mixed feelings about dogs, keeping them away for fear of being bitten while aching for having one of them as a pet. Sucre is a birthday present I gave to my wife on 2010, the year before we got married. I’m lost for words when it comes to describe the strong bonds that emerged out of the blue between we and him. Human beings have been domesticating dogs since ancient times. And their unique and special way of communicating with humans has become one of the most successful when compared to any other domestic animal. Maybe there is no clear evidence but based on my intuition I think many of us are hardwired to love dogs. At least, I am. No matter how hard my family had been discouraging me that I finally got away with it. Sucre was still a puppy when he joined our family. At the beginning we struggled to get him poo and wee on the street. By using positive reinforcement we managed to change some of his wayward conducts into good deeds. His nature is true and pure, unique and special. Being a mongrel, Sucre could easily have ended up as a stray dog. Luckily, he forms an integral part of our inseparable family and we are proud of it. More than living a dog’s life, since that summer of 2010 we are in seventh heaven.

Appearances can be deceptive The way something looks sometimes can mislead the viewer, getting the wrong side of the stick. Appearances can be deceptive and often they are. Politicians have always lied, that’s a fact, a thing we can't deny. Maybe that’s the reason why post-truth has recently became the Oxford Word Of The Year 2016 with Mr Trump and Brexit being the leading exponent of the collocation “post-truth politics”. We could define post-truth in layman's terms as 'the art of the lie' although the politeness of the renowned dictionary has defined it as 'relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief'. The problem arises when such a term is the mainstay of political commentary. It seems like the concern about fake news has diminished among the public opinion. It’s a perilous time for journalism, at least for the kind of journalism that does not aim to hit the headlines at any cost. In my opinion, the freedom of speech and thought must prevail over the blatant lies that Mr Trump has spread countless times. Let me take Global Warming as an example to illustrate his behaviour. These are some random Trumps' notorious tweets: 6 November 2012: “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”. 5 February 2014: “When will our country stop wasting money on global warming and so many other truly “STUPID" things and begin to focus on lower taxes?" 17 November 2014: "The entire country is FREEZING - we desperately need a heavy dose of global warming, and fast! Ice caps size reaches all time high.” 18 February 2015: "Among the lowest temperatures EVER in much of the United States. Ice caps at record size. Changed name from GLOBAL WARMING to CLIMATE CHANGE” Trump may come up trumps, winning the presidential election but he who laughs last, laughs longest. Fortunately, facts and figures overcome Trump’s campaign against Climate Change (or Global Warming) treats. Taking a look at NASA’s “Global Climate Change” website would keep more than one mouth shut. Appearances can be deceptive. It might be bitterly cold in the USA but it doesn’t mean that devastating weather events are happening in every corner of the globe. Please, don’t let this post-truth statements undermine your trust.

Hi Spring! A new season has just been inaugurated. Thousands of flowers species ready to bloom any minute now. Life can be predictable but nobody could deny its colourful and dazzling display. Yet all that glitters is not gold. Believe me, ask around and you’ll find out how many people suffer from seasonal allergies and many other mood related changes historically bound to this time of year. I would tell them look on the bright side, at least with the spring equinox nights are going to shrink and this means longer days to let your hair down. A glass of your preferred beverage, a good read and plenty of time to unwind after work. Feeling that you have all the time in the world will help you to focus on those things you're being procrastinating during winter. As Marta says: take care of yourself and enjoy the sun.

The end justify the means Beniatjar, Valencia. Sunday afternoon. Lolling around on the Calvary, the sun glaring right in my eyes, I feel rejuvenated. Our body has been designed to overcome difficulties. The brain can providentially forget those trifling fears that sometimes are able to keep us sleepless, staring up at our bedroom ceiling all night long. Sucre is lying on a stone bench by me, quiet and peaceful. Wagging his tail occasionally as a sign of happiness. Aware of the companionable silence, who knows? No other human being around to talk to, I can free my mind. There is no single niggling worry at the back of my head. I can now do my own thing. Sometimes a bit of self-awareness and selfishness is not harmful. The end justify the means.

A pain in the neck Saturday morning. By the blazing sunshine invading my bedroom through every little hole in the curtains, I guess it may be around ten in the morning. Luckily, oversleeping is not going to cause me any inconvenience. It’s weekend, indeed, a long weekend as next monday is a local bank holiday. - 'Honey, honey!' I shout to grab Marta’s attention. The door bursts open as she appears. Her radiant smile and the sparkle in her blue eyes, signs of a woman still deep in love. - 'What do you want for breakfast?' she asks almost whispering. I wonder how well she is able to read my mind. Only a glimpse and a freshly squeezed orange juice with a toast is waiting for me in the kitchen. As I prepare myself to get out of bed, a terrible pain freezes me, I'm unable to make the slightish movement. A pain in the neck which is a far cry from those I find at work, pernickety individuals incapable of see the wood from the trees. This pain, however, is different, a simple one that hopefully will whittle down in a couple of days.

Practice makes perfec Since last summer, my burning ambition is to become fluent in English. As many of you may know there is a famous English saying that goes "practice makes perfect". To achieve my ambition I know full well that I need considerable drive and determination. After working very hard with Mrs Robertshaw, my extraordinary online English teacher, I managed to get very high marks on the "Cambridge English: First" exam I sat on December. Then, I decided to continue my English journey by attending Mr Palmer English classes. He is probably the funniest and most knowledgeable teacher I have ever had. Classes apart, I'm constantly exposed to a miscellany of English resources such as podcasts, newspaper articles, TV shows and films, and literature. To grow my vocabulary, I keep a notebook (actually, it's not a proper notebook but a spreadsheet) where I regularly add all the new vocabulary or expressions that I found. Indeed, I can barely catch up with them all, so there is an increasing number of words, expressions, idioms and chunks of language on my waiting list. A spin-off of my Notebook is the production of memorising materials in the form of flashcards (see my Quizlet profile) and categorised word lists (see my Memrise profile) which I constantly keep up-to-date. This is all very time-consuming but worth doing. However, I always felt that there was something missing until today. I ‘skyped' Mrs Robershaw on account of preparing the C2 Certification Exam that I'm going to take on June and she gave me a very useful piece of advice on putting the language in practise. "Why don't you write a blog?" she said. And this is my very first entry.

When to use "specially" or "especially"? Could you please give me some examples?