Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg has been all over the news in Spain these last few days because of what he said when he was interviewed by Conan O'Brien. If you look for the videos on youtube you'll find a lot of angry people writing comments, either because they hate the Spanish show or because they hate the actor. I actually think that both groups are partially right: the host of the show (Pablo Motos) has an ego the size of Jack Nicholson's, and he normally uses his guests to make himself look good. However, Jesse Eisenberg was completely wrong when he thought that Spain carries a grudge towards the USA because of WWII. First: Spain was not involved in World War II (that's not entirely true, Spain was having enough problems after its own civil war, so it was officially neutral, even if it somehow tried to help the Germans) Secondly: because it was a dictatorship, it did not receive any American help, so, my dear friend, no American "ships and planes full of help" arrived in Spain. Get your facts straight before speaking.
And finally, because this blog is for a language class (an English class): don't be so proud about being linguistically incompetent! Learning is always a positive thing, even if it is learning foreign languages!

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day or Veterans Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries to remember the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. This day, or alternative dates, is also recognised as a special day for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries

Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November (11-11) to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918, as the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. (Note that "at the 11th hour", refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.)

The red poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields”. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilt in the war.

For some more information, I suggest the following pages:

http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Remembrance.html

http://www.calendar-updates.com/info/holidays/canada/remembrance.aspx

http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/remembrance/

Criminals

Well, this may very well be the last entry for the school year, so I'll leave something funny for you to enjoy before your exams. Two guys are trying to rob some kind of store. One of the thieves is watching the street to make sure nobody is coming and the other one uses a stone to try and break the glass. Can you imagine what's going to happen?

Enjoy and very good luck next week!!

Feng Shui

Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese system of aesthetics believed to use the laws of both Heaven (astronomy) and Earth (geography) to help one improve life by receiving positive qi. Historically, feng shui was widely used to orient buildings – often spiritually significant structures such as tombs, but also dwellings and other structures – in an auspicious manner. Depending on the particular style of feng shui being used, an auspicious site could be determined by reference to local features such as bodies of water, stars, or a compass. Feng shui was suppressed in China during the cultural revolution in the 1960s, but has since seen an increase in popularity, particularly in the United States.
Today, feng shui is practiced not only by the Chinese, but also by Westerners. However, with the passage of time and feng shui's popularization in the West, much of the knowledge behind it has been lost in translation, not paid proper attention to, frowned upon, or scorned.
Robert T. Carroll sums up what feng shui has become in some cases:
"... feng shui has become an aspect of interior decorating in the Western world and alleged masters of feng shui now hire themselves out for hefty sums to tell people such as Donald Trump which way his doors and other things should hang. Feng shui has also become another New Age "energy" scam with arrays of metaphysical products ... offered for sale to help you improve your health, maximize your potential, and guarantee fulfillment of some fortune cookie philosophy."
Others have noted how, when feng shui is not applied properly, or rather, without common sense, it can even harm the environment, such as was the case of people planting "lucky bamboo" in ecosystems that could not handle them.
Adapted from wikipedia

Divorced, Beheaded, Died...

Here's a clip telling you the story of Henry VIII's wives:

Cars

Since we've just started the topic of "cars", I thought I'd leave you the plot of a film with the exact same name that we might or might not watch next week:

The last race of the Piston Cup stock car racing season ends in a three-way dead heat between retiring veteran Strip "The King" Weathers, perennial runner-up and dirty fighter Chick Hicks, and the self-centered rookie Lightning McQueen. A tiebreaker race is scheduled for one week later at the Los Angeles International Speedway. Lightning is desperate to win the race, as it would allow him to leave the sponsorship of Rust-Eze, a rust treatment for old cars, and allow him to become the sponsored car of the lucrative Dinoco team in The King's place. Eager to start practice in California as soon as possible, Lightning pushes his big rig, Mack, to travel all night long.

Mack tries to avoid falling asleep, but becomes the victim of a gang of reckless street racers, subsequently causing the sleeping Lightning to roll out of the back of the trailer unnoticed. Waking up in traffic, Lightning speeds off to find Mack, but mistakes a waste disposal tractor-trailer, a Peterbilt 362, for Mack (In the process, he outruns a train named, Trev Diesel, number A113), and becomes lost and ends up in the run-down town of Radiator Springs. A mishap with the local sheriff causes Lightning to inadvertently tear up the town's main road. Lightning is promptly arrested, then tried the next day by the town's judge and doctor, Doc Hudson, who at first wants him to leave Radiator Springs immediately; but at the insistence of local lawyer Sally Carrera, Doc instead sentences him to repave the road as community service.

Encouraged by his new friends and a countryside cruise with Sally, McQueen successfully completes the road and spends an extra day in town, visiting the local shops to outfit him with new tires and equipment. That night, Mack and the media converge on the town, having been tipped off by Doc as to Lightning's whereabouts, and Lightning reluctantly sets off for California. Sally is upset with Doc for thinking only of himself, and the other townsfolk are saddened to see McQueen go. As they retire to their homes, the town's neon is turned off, and as the town returns to its previous quietness, Doc realizes just how much McQueen meant to them.

I won't tell you how it ends, just in case.
From en.wikipedia.org

"for and against" composition

Hello, there!
As I told you in class the other day, this is the topic for your composition for Christmas:
"Advantages and disadvantages of having Christmas dinner parties with your family"
I hope you all have great holidays, rest a lot and come back in January full of energy!

Shopaholics!

Is your closet overflowing with never-worn clothing, the price tags still waving in the breeze? Is your attic bulging with boxes and boxes of shoes that have never touched pavement? Do you buy new makeup weekly or compact discs by the fistful? You might be a shopaholic.
Manhattan psychologist April Benson, author of "I Shop Therefore I Am: Compulsive Buying and the Search for Self," has seen firsthand how destructive compulsive shopping can be.
"One patient of mine got fired because she was compulsively shopping on the Internet all day. There are other people who neglect their children and park them in the mall constantly because that is what they need to feed their habit. Lots of marriages break up over compulsive buying. In fact, we don't call it compulsive buying unless there is some significant impairment in some aspect of your life." Famous shopaholics in history include Marie Antoinette, Mary Todd Lincoln, William Randolph Hearst, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Imelda Marcos and Princess Diana. Their addictions ranged from clothing (Jackie O, Diana) to art and antiques (Hearst) to shoes (the heralded Marcos collection) to gloves (Mrs. Lincoln owned 84 pairs of them).
What do women want? In order of preference, most female compulsive shoppers buy clothes, shoes, jewelry, makeup and compact discs.
Men? Clothing, shoes, electronics (TVs, stereos, computers, etc.), hardware and CDs.
Sounds normal enough, right? So how does compulsive shopping differ from your last trip to the mall?
"Well, they don't buy one CD, they buy 10 CDs at a time," says Black. "They might buy five skirts, all the same, perhaps in different shades or slightly different styles, where a normal buyer would identify a need for something new or attend a sale and buy one item."
Adapted from moneycentral

Thanksgiving

Having thanksgiving about a week away, I'll just leave some historical info here:
Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, presently celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863. It did not become a federal holiday until 1941. Thanksgiving was historically a religious observation to give thanks to God, and is still celebrated as such by many families, but is now also considered a secular holiday.
Most Americans celebrate by gathering at home with family or friends for a holiday feast. Though the holiday's origins can be traced to harvest festivals which have been celebrated in many cultures since ancient times, the American holiday is tied to the deliverance of the English settlers by Native Americans after the harsh winter at Plymouth, Massachusetts and that event has become the pre-eminent foundation story for English North America.
The First Thanksgiving was celebrated to give thanks to God and the Native Americans for helping the pilgrims survive the brutal winter. Although half of the pilgrims who arrived on the Mayflower had already died, many more would have had it not been for the native Americans teaching the pilgrims to harvest foods. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three whole days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. The traditional Thanksgiving menu often features turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie. Americans may eat these foods on modern day Thanksgiving, but the first feast did not consist of these items. On the first feast turkey was any type of fowl that the pilgrims hunted. Pumpkin pie wasn't on the menu because there were no ovens for baking, but they did have boiled pumpkin. Cranberries weren't introduced at this time. Due to the diminishing supply of flour there was no bread of any kind
Adapted from wikipedia

American Health Care Reform

Dealing with health, I couldn't overlook the (in Obama's words) "historic" session that took place in the USA congress last Sunday, when one of President Obama's top priorities was voted: the reform that he is planning for the American Health Care system.

The House passed its health care bill late Saturday night by a 220-215 vote, with 39 Democrats in opposition and one Republican supporting it. Senate approval is considered less certain due to opposition by all Republicans and some moderate Democrats.

Obama called the support by many House members "courageous" in the face of what he called "the heated and often misleading rhetoric around this legislation."

The Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962, restricts insurance companies from denying coverage to anyone with a pre-existing condition or charging higher premiums based on gender or medical history. It also provides federal subsidies to those who cannot afford health insurance. And it guarantees coverage for 96 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The bill still has to go to the Senate, where Republican opposition is even greater.

Adapted from www.cnn.com

Trick or Treat!

The American tradition of "trick-or-treating" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives.

The distribution of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as "going a-souling" was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given ale, food, and money.

The tradition of dressing in costume for Halloween has both European and Celtic roots. Hundreds of years ago, winter was an uncertain and frightening time. Food supplies often ran low and, for the many people afraid of the dark, the short days of winter were full of constant worry. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes. To avoid being recognized by these ghosts, people would wear masks when they left their homes after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. On Halloween, to keep ghosts away from their houses, people would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter.

Adapted from http://www.history.com/

Monty Python's Argument Clinic

Dealing with humour, we couldn't forget the fabulous Monty Python. Enjoy!

Anti-Paparazzi Law

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed an anti-paparazzi bill making it easier to sue media outlets that use photos that invade celebrities' privacy.
Paparazzi photos are sold for incredible amounts of money, for example, a photo of Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed sold for over 3 million dollars. This has created a lot of controversy, as photographers usually wait outside celebrities' homes to take photos or interview them. Sometimes they intrude into private properties or pay people for information.
Do you think Schwarzenegger is right making a harder law against paparazzi? Do you think he is just angry because, as a celebrity, he has suffered them?

Welcome aboard!

Hello, everybody!
We start the new school year, and this year I'll try to use this blog both for my advanced and intermediate classes. Any other students are also welcome to use the blog in any way they please, and, of course, visitors are also welcome!