James May

James May (popular called "captain slow") is a famous British television presenter, writer and journalist. He is best known from the TV-show Top Gear, but he is also  writing in different newspapers and magazines.

James May was born in Bristol, England, in January 1963, which means he is 48 years old today.  In his first year after the public school, he dedicated his life to the music, and studied music at Lanchester University. After graduating, James May worked at a hospital in Chelsea as a records officer.

During the 1980s, James May started his career as a journalist, writing for "The Engineer" and "Autocar."  Through the 90s, he started his career as a TV-presenter, before he was snapped up by Top Gear in 1999.

Today, he is presenting the show together with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond.Top Gear is a huge success, and one of the most viewed TV-shows in the world.

Video blog, invisible people

Invisible people is a video blog about homeless people. The man behind the blog was unemployed, when he decided to start blogging.

I think this blog is a good example of the American spirit. When the man became unemployed, he decided to create his own work. He became a entrepreneur, with huge success. If you work hard, you can achieve everything, Many Americans say. This video blog is a perfect example, and shows that if you work hard, you can achieve a lot.

My first thoughts about the movie "Crash"

Crash is a movie about multiculturalism. We meet several people in different situations, and saw how they tried to solve different problems. We saw everything from a police man killing a hitchhiker, to a carpenter telling stories to his daughter. The movie was very varied, but had a clear red line: Multiculturalism. 

Almost every situation we saw,  was tense. Guns was used a lot in this movie, mostly to scare though. The movie was sad, and told us that being foreign and different in USA not always is easy. We saw a multicultural society, which not worked very well.

However, this is also a movie about hope. In one situation, a desperate foreign shop owner shot a 5 year old girl, when she tried to protect her father. Anyway, the girl survived, something she blamed the invisible cap her father had given her.

The movie shows in a great way how hard i can be to be different in USA. It`s maybe a bit exaggerated, but still worth watching.

How to act in our mentor business?

We are soon going to be stationed in a business for 6 days. How are we going to behave?

When stationed in a mentor business, it`s important to behave well. First of all, it`s really central to be polite. Being rude to your mentor, and he/she will start to dislike you from the beginning. It`s also a great advantage to be well prepared, to know why you are visiting this business, and ask about central themes. If you are showing interest for the business, the business will show interest for you.

How not to behave stationed in the mentor business then, you might ask. Well, to be rude and unprepared is no advantage. Being late in the morning is no advantage either. However, I am quite sure that we all will be able to behave well, and get a good time in our mentor businesses.

Poem

Glenyse Ward 

Young, native, poor and sad  

Servant to Mr. and Mrs. Biglow

Likes silverware, carpets and beautiful cups

Feels worthless, depressed and humiliated

Need her family, care and freedom

Fears for her future, her mom and dad

Gives working capacity, a sad story

Wishes the same as she needs

Lives in a garage

Glenyse Ward


By Magnus and Odin

Apologize

In the 1950s, 60 years ago, something terrible happened. Even though its 40 year before I was born, I am really terrified to hear what happened. I am full of disgust over the Australian government, and over all the Australian people, which did this. They ruined so many families, communities, they stole a generation.

Today, it’s important to remember this event, to protect the indigenous people in the future. I would do anything to prevent this to happen again. Are you with me?

Sorry. Such a small word, with such a big significance. Today, Australia say sorry to all the aboriginal people. Why? Because you all deserve it.

Across America, post 3

The third day has gone, and I am still enjoying the trip. Today, after a late check out from the motel, I started driving further, excited for what`s coming after the next corner.

When you are doing a trip like this, you never know what’s coming. You are travelling all the time, sleeping at different places every night. I have just travelled for 3 days, but have already experienced a big, American city, a smaller village and the countryside. You never get bored; there is always something to experience. You also meet many interesting persons.

Since I am travelling all the time, I am also meeting different landscapes and weather. My journey started in Chicago, a city located north in America, and is going to end in Los Angeles, a city more south, famous for beaches and hot weather. Through the journey, I will drive through desert, forests, over mountains etc, and will hopefully experience a lot. The weather would most probably change a lot, but if it’s raining somewhere, I can just drive on to the next city.

 When I drove on, I saw a landscape which looked more like the pictures I have seen. Big, nice roads, only and the only cars I saw were some local farmers and tourists. The landscape around was really nice as well! Desert covered with small trees and cactus, and some beautiful, conical mountains further away. Quite often, I drove through small villages, often with just a few houses. They villages were looking exactly like they were looking in the 60`s, even the cars was old. Here, you can buy a real, big hamburger, made by a chef only thinking taste, not health. The local farmers are calling villages like this “the only real America,” and told me they never would have lived in a city. I understand them well.

What`s surprised me very much, was all the flags I saw. Regardless where I was, American flag was painted on walls, cars, or hung on flagpoles. The American people are very proud of their country, and the national feeling is strong.

The American flag was adopted June 14, 1777, but then only with 13 stars. The current version of the flag came June 4, 1960 and has 50 stars, one per state in USA. The 13 stripes represent the first 13 colonies that rebelled against the British monarchy and became the first states in the union. The flag, which is called “stars and stripes,” is one of the world’s most recognized symbols.

Right now, I am sitting in the car at a drive in cinema, waiting for the movie to start. Here at the countryside, you are finding things you just think exists in movies, such as this. The journey has been an experience for life. I have seen a lot on my travel so far, and will most probably experience really much later as well. I am really happy that I selected to drive through America instead of a dull city holiday; I am experiencing a lot more of America now.

See ya!

"My" car