revista generaciones

High expectations…

Low results

After watching the outstanding show for the Queen´s Jubilee and the spectacular opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics my expectations were high for the closing ceremony.

Unfortunately I was very disappointed. There were a few highlights, but most of it was a typical rock show.

 I was delightfully surprised by the homage to Freddy Mercury and the guitar performance by his fellow band member Brian May.

 However I was not rocked by Jessie J´s “I will rock you”.






I enjoyed Waterloo Sunset  by Ray Davies

I think my students loved One Direction

Olympic ranks by Gold

Olympic ranks by Gold

Reference:

http://www.london2012.com/medals/medal-count/

The sardine is ours!

The Millenium Gallery has opened with the exhibition “The Sardine is ours”. It includes 193 sardine designs, chosen from among a pre-selection of 300.

It´s worth seeing this exhibition and enjoy the creative ways of portraying sardines.

Rua Augusta, 96

Lisbon

Preocupo-me, LOGO EXISTO!

Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead

Preocupo-me, LOGO EXISTO! is an adaptation of the work by Eric Bogosian Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead. It´s on stage in Lisbon. It is performed by Diogo Infante as a solo artist.

Preocupo-me, LOGO EXISTO! is a monologue which carefully analyses in a critical and sarcastic manner contemporary daily life with a strong sense of self criticism. It deals with politics, race, social obligation and responsibility, all very up-to-date questions. The characters, which are very often funny, but also cynical, possess a striking level of humanity.

Diogo Infante is absolutely captivating in the 8 characters he performs: he switches between roles with ease and is very convincing whether playing the salesman, the racist taxi driver, the drug addicted superstar, the Devil, the doctor describing the side effects of the medicine he’s prescribing or the common man at the end who reflects about the play. His style is confrontational- he speaks directly to the audience.

An excellent play that is a must for anyone interested in theatre! 

Eric Bogosian is an American playwright and actor known for his plays Talk Radio and Suburbia as well as numerous solos: Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, Pounding Nails in the Floor with My Forehead and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee. He was born in Boston (MA) in 1953.

Diogo Infante is a very versatile and awarded Portuguese actor who has worked on stage, in the screen and on television. Diogo Infante was director of the Portuguese National Theatre D. Maria II. He was born in Lisbon in 1967.

Estatística do THIS and THAT

7 agosto 2012

Este blog iniciou-se há um ano, a 7 de agosto de 2011. Teve como objetivo fornecer informações sobre a cultura anglo-americana aos alunos da EB Paula Vicente, por considerar que muitos manuais não contemplam esta matéria. Os primeiros artigos tinham sido publicados no jornal digital da escola, o qual, no final do ano letivo 2010/11, atingiu o seu limite de capacidade. Escrevi artigos em Inglês, destinados a alunos nos anos mais avançados e outros em Português. Todos os assuntos foram de início abordados nas minhas aulas de Inglês.

No entanto, constatei que manter o blog atualizado ultrapassava o objetivo inicial e escrever passou a ser um passatempo que me dá um gozo especial, fundamentalmente, porque descobri ser uma forma de partilhar ideias e curiosidades. Obviamente, não conheço nem 1/1000 das pessoas que visitaram o THIS and THAT, porém tive muito gosto em saber que talvez tenha suscitado aos meus alunos e a muita gente dos quatro cantos do globo um renovado interesse de saber mais acerca de variados temas. Depois, este meu blog, numa época onde o futuro já não parece possível sem o recurso à internet deu-me a plena consciência que o mundo é, finalmente, como diz o velho adágio, uma “aldeia”. E a partilha de leituras e o aprofundamento de velhos conhecimentos, resultantes desse avanço espantoso da tecnologia, revela-se útil e uma forma de me sentir cidadã dessa cidade universal. Assim, a vastidão dos mares, a altura das montanhas e as fronteiras nacionais deixam de ser intransponíveis - por momentos, todos nos aproximamos uns dos outros graças à “blogoesfera”. 

Total de Visualizações: 11 684

Mensagens com mais visualizações (top 5)

Ok

Presidents´Day

The Importance of Learning English

Sintra…always

Fernando Pessoa: The Durban Years

Visualizações de Páginas por País (top 5)

Portugal

EUA

Brasil

Reino Unido

Rússia

                                             Maria Teresa Relva

                       Berlengas, Portugal, 7 agosto 2012

NASA`s Mars Rover

The Mars Curiosity rover landed safely on the surface of Mars on August 6, 2012. 

It is part of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Curiosity is a nuclear-powered Mars rover, which carries the most advanced scientific equipment ever used on the surface of the red planet. This extraordinary accomplishment represents a step forward for Martian exploration. 

The MSL spacecraft that carried Curiosity was launched on November 26, 2011.  


http://www.ustream.tv/NASAJPL

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2012-231

http://scienceaid.co.uk/physics/space/solarsystem.html

WOW! Usain Bolt!

A legend in the making!

On  5 August,  the world´s fastest man, the Jamaican sprinter, Usain Bolt, won the men´s 100m gold medal in 9.63 seconds- a new Olympic record, justifying his nickname, Lighting Bolt.


Calm, focus, natural talent, hard work and amazing physical fitness will all make Usain Bolt a legend!


On 9 August the untouchable Jamaican won the 200m and became the first sprinter to win the 100 and 200 metres in consecutive Olympics. He finished in 19.32 seconds.


On  11 August Bolt won his third gold medal in the London 2012 Olympics by leading the Jamaican men´s 400m relay team in a new world record time of 36.84sec.

Marilyn Monroe

“Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.”
Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe was born as Norma Jean Mortenson in Los Angeles, California in 1926 and died on August 5, 1962, precisely 50 years ago.

She came from a broken home. She never knew her father and her mother, Gladys, was mentally and financially unable to take care of her, so she spent her childhood in different foster homes.

In 1942 she married Jim Dougherty in an attempt to get rid of foster care. During the war she started working in a factory and was encouraged to apply to a modeling agency. As they were looking for light hair models she coloured her brunette hair blond. She appeared in many magazine covers and became very successful. She divorced Jim Dougherty in 1946.

In the same year Norma Jean caught the attention of film executives and after changing her name to Marilyn Monroe made her debut in some films in non-speaking roles. After several movie flops and in desperate need of money, she agreed to pose nude.When a calendar of her nude colour photos was discovered the studio went out of control. Marilyn calmly confirmed that she had needed the money and the problems quickly receded.

In 1953, during the wedding of Eunice Kennedy (one of the Kennedy sisters), someone decided that in honour of the bride´s family everyone should sing “Maryland, my Maryland”. That was fine until the Kennedys started singing “Marilyn, my Marilyn” in honour of Marilyn Monroe. (Leamer 426)

In  January 1954 she married Joe DiMaggio, a baseball player. In response to a question about married life, she said: “Ballplayers make good husbands. Joe and I want a lot of little DiMaggios.” (Cramer362)

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Diamonds Are a Girl´s Best Friends contributed to her popularity.

She won one of her most notable film roles in The Seven Year Itch. In September 1954, she appeared in a white summer dress standing on a subway grate with her skirt blowing up, as if cooling herself with the wind from the train below (this scene  was on Lexington Avenue at 52nd Street in New York City, but was never seen in the film-it was only for publicity).

Publicists knew that wherever she went, the town stopped around her. One of them even said: “The Russians could have invaded Manhattan, and nobody would have taken any notice”. In the crowd was her husband who didn´t like what he saw. That night, there was a fight in their suite on the 11^th floor of the St Regis and that fight would stay famous as the end of their marriage. (Cramer 366) 

In 1956 she married Arthur Miller, an American playwright who wrote in his memoirs: “This golden girl was like champagne on the screen…with all her radiance she was surrounded by a darkness that perplexed me” He once told her: “You´re the saddest girl I´ve ever known”.

In Some like it hot, she won the Golden Globe award for best comedy actress (1960) and started filming The Misfits, (her last completed film) a short story by Arthur Miller adapted to screenplay. Before the film's premiere in 1961, they divorced.

Monroe started filming another film, Something’s Gotta Give, in 1962.  However, her deteriorating physical condition, her mood swings and her emotional instability (she forgot her lines and missed numerous shoots) reached a point that she was eventually dropped from the film.  She saw her psychiatrist almost daily and her doctor several times a week.

“She seemed to have a mind of immense capacity that had been assaulted by life, bludgeoned by a culture that asked only enticement of her. She had acted that role, and now she was petitioning to display another dimension, but in some difficult- to- grasp way she could not get a hearing, and this was hurtful when like any actor she was almost totally defined by what was said and written about her” (Miller 425)

On May 19, 1962, she made her last public appearance, singing “Happy Birthday, Mr President” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden.

Monroe died of a possible drug overdose. Her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, came forward to manage her funeral. This happened 50 years ago but her myth continues…

Andy Warhol´s paintings that feature Monroe`s likeness are based on 1953 publicity for the film Niagara.

Elton John’s tribute to Princess Diana, “Candle in the Wind,” was originally written to commemorate Monroe’s life: (Goodbye Norma Jean…) 

References:

Cramer, Richard Ben. Joe DiMaggio. Simon & Schuster. New York, 2000

Laurence Leamer. The Kennedy Women. Fawcett Columbine, New York, 1994

Miller, Arthur. Timebends. A Life. Grove Press. New York, 1987                          

British and American English

England and America are two countries separated by a common language


George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Irish Dramatist




We can´t deny that the contributions of American expressions to British English have been increasing (the use of haven´t got is changing to don´t have). On the other hand, it’s interesting to observe that American people use some expressions that were familiar to Shakespearean English (fall for autumn, gotten for got), all of which have long since died out in Britain. Although films and television have smoothed some differences existing between British and American English, there are others that can be somewhat confusing for someone learning English or even for the nationals of either country. 

What´s a rain check?

It´s an American expression that means:

1. a piece of paper that you can use to buy something later that is not available at the moment. (voucher, coupon)

2. a ticket for a sports game that you can use again if rain stops the game.

3. You are not going to accept an offer at the moment, but you may accept at another time.



Rain checks were issued to the fans and the game was rescheduled for tomorrow night. 

- Can I buy you a drink?
- No, thanks, but I´ll take a rain check.

    British                                            American 

Autumn                                         Fall

A fortnight                                    Two weeks

Angry                                            Mad

Aubergine                                     Eggplant

Baby´s dummy                              Pacifier

Biscuit                                           Cookie

Bill                                                 Check

Bonnet (car)                                  Hood

Boot                                              Trunk (of car)

Candyfloss                                    Cotton candy

Car park                                        Parking lot

Caravan                                         Trailer

Chemist´s shop                              Drugstore, pharmacy

Chips                                             French fries

Courgette                                       Zucchini

Crisps                                              Potato chips

CV (curriculum vitae)                    Resume

Dustbin                                           Garbage can

Dustman                                         Garbage collector

Estate Agent                                   Realtor

Estate car                                        Station Wagon

Flat                                                  Apartment

Film                                                 Movie

Garden                                             Yard

Great                                                Neat

Headmaster                                     Principal

Holiday                                           Vacation

Lift                                                  Elevator

Lorry                                               Truck

Luggage                                           Baggage

Mad                                                 Crazy

Motorway                                        Highway

Nappy                                              Diaper

Parcel                                              Package

Pavement                                         Sidewalk

Pedestrian crossing                          Crosswalk

Petrol                                               Gas

Postcode                                          Zip code

Postman                                           Mailman

Queue                                              Line

Rubber                                             Eraser

Rubbish                                           Garbage

Sweets                                              Candy

Shop                                                 Store

Taxi                                                  Cab

Timetable                                          Schedule

Tin                                                     Can

Trainers                                             Sneakers

Trousers                                             Pants

Underground (Tube)                          Subway

Waistcoat                                           Vest

Wardrobe                                            Closet

Spelling 

Centre                                                 Center

Harbour                                               Harbor

Maths                                                   Math

Neighbour                                             Neighbor

Pyjamas                                                Pajamas

Programme                                           Program

Theatre                                                 Theater

Travelling                                             Traveling

Congratulations, Michael Phelps!

On July 31, the American swimmer Michael Phelps won a silver medal in the 200 meter butterfly and a gold medal in the 4x 200 meter freestyle relay. Therefore he became the most decorated Olympian of all time with 19 medals, one more than the Ukrainian gymnast Larisa Latynina who had the record.

On August 2, Michael Phelps won his 20th Olympic medal – and his 16th gold in the final of the 200m individual medley.

On August 3, the legendary swimmer won his 17th Olympic gold medal in the 100m butterfly and increased the number of medals to 21.

On August 4, Michael Phelps won his 18th and final Olympic gold medal with US teammates in the 4x100 medley relay. Now with a total of 22 Olympic medals (18 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) he is ready for retirement: "It´s time to move on". 

The Olympic Games

London 2012

27 July-12 August

Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. They continued for nearly 12 centuries, until Emperor Theodosius decreed in 393 A.D. that all "pagan cults" be banned.



The idea of reviving the Olympic Games came from Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, as a way of promoting understanding across cultures and a philosophic ideal of athletic competition where the competition itself became more important than winning. Athens hosted the first Olympics of the modern era in 1896.

 London hosted the Olympic Games three times: in 1908, 1948 and 2012.

The symbol of the Olympic Games is composed of five interlocked rings coloured blue, yellow, black, green, and red. They were originally designed in 1912 by Pierre de Coubertin, and represent the five continents involved in the Olympics.

The London 2012 Opening Ceremony

The 2012 Olympics have opened in London in a spectacular ceremony, “this is for everyone”, celebrating the history and culture of Britain and its contributions to the world through innovation and revolution.

One of the highlights of Daniel Boyle`s imaginative film for the celebration were the Queen and James Bond together in Buckingham Palace. For a moment we thought 007(Daniel Craig) was going to escort the “real” Queen to the opening Ceremony, when she said “Good evening, Mr. Bond” and rose from her desk.

In the stadium England's countryside was quickly transformed into a centre of industrial activity, celebrating Britain's role as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

A pastoral scene representing England before the industrial revolution.

The rings representing the Games and the industrial revolution were lit and lifted during the ceremony.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the World Wide Web that has changed the way we communicate forever.

Even Britain´s best loved nanny, Mary Poppins flew inside the stadium.

Mr Bean (Rowan Atkinson) also made an appearance as a keyboard player at the ceremony while Sir Simon Rattle conducted the London Symphony Orchestra.

The people on the bikes represented doves, which were released at the ancient Greek games.

The torch formed of 205 copper petals representing the competing nations coming together for the Games was lit by seven young Torchbearers nominated by Britain’s greatest Olympians. After the Games each of the petal-torch will be given to each of the national teams.
The ceremony also paid tribute to four decades of British Music. Sir Paul McCartney performed “Hey Jude” at the end.

The Royal Family and the Olympics

King Edward VII opened the 1908 London Olympic Games.

King George VI at the opening ceremony of the 1948 London Olympic Games.

Queen Elizabeth II had the honour of opening the London Olympics, as Head of State. She was accompanied by her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The Queen previously opened Canada´s Montreal Games in 1976.

This dress inspired by the official Olympic symbol was worn by The Queen during her attendance at the Montreal Olympics. 

The Duke of Edinburgh opened on her behalf the  Melbourne Games in Australia, in 1956.

The Princess Royal is the only member of the Royal Family ever to have competed in the Olympic Games (1976).

The Princess Royal's daughter, Zara Philips, will compete in the London 2012 Olympics on her horse High Kingdom .