And the Winner is…

The 84th Academy Awards

 

Best Picture

“The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad, Dede Gardner and Grant Hill, Producers
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role

Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly C

Actress in a Leading Role

Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role

Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help

Directing

"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

Art in New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art or the MET is the most famous museum in New York City and one of the most famous in the world. You can spend an entire day looking at the paintings, sculptures and more.

The Museum of Modern Art or the MoMA offers the finest collection of late 19-20^th century art.

The Guggenheim Museum is in itself a building that steals the show. You can find in the permanent collection post-impressionist masterpieces.

The Frick Collection is housed in the former mansion of Henry Clay Frick, a millionaire who spent millions on a superb collection of works. If you go to New York this museum must be on the top list of places to visit.

Famous American Painters

Copley, Mrs. Joshua Henshaw II

John Singleton Copley (1738-1815) is best known for his portraits of important people in colonial America.

Stuart, Washington

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) is best known for painting George Washington portrait.

França, The Churchill Children

Manuel Joachim de França (1808-1865) is best known for being the St Louis (Missouri) most fashionable portrait painter.

Homer, summer night

Winslow Homer (1836-1910) is best known for his marine subjects

Whistler, Whistler´s mother

James Mcneill Whistler (1834-1903) is best known for his respected and sometimes parodied work “Whistler´s mother”.

 

Cassatt, Mother and Child

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) is best known for being the only American artist member of the Impressionist group in Paris.She painted mainly mothers and children.

Sargent, Madame X

 John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) is best known for being the leading portrait painter of his generation.

Remington, The Scout, Friends or Foes

Frederic S. Remington (1861-1909) is best known for his depictions of the Old American West.

 Hopper, The Lighthouse at Two Lights

Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is best known for painting scenes of New England evoking isolation.

O´Keeffe, Calla Lilies with Red Anemone

Georgia O´keeffe (1887-1986) is best known for revolutionizing the tradition of flower painting.

Davis, Hot Still- Scape for Six Colors

Stuart Davis (1892-1964) is best known for his jazz influenced paintings.

De Kooning, Woman

Willem De Kooning (1904-) is best known for his abstract expressionist paintings.

Pollock, Eyes in the Heat

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)is best known for his “drip” paintings.

Warhol, Jackie Kennedy

Andy Warhol (1928-1987) is best known as a leading figure in the pop art movement.

Chuck Close (1940-) is best known for his photorealistic  work.

References:

Montebello, P. (dir). The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York, 1994

Art in London

Most people are very impressed by the amount of art on display in London.

The National Gallery in Trafalgar Square has one of the largest collections of pictures in the world.

The National Portrait Gallery is situated just around the corner from the National Gallery.

Tate Britain is on the river Thames and it´s near the Houses of Parliament. There are a lot of modern paintings there as well as pictures by Turner and Constable, but many of the very recent ones have been taken to Tate Modern. Art enthusiasts can travel from Tate Modern to Tate Britain by a boat service called "Tate to Tate".

Famous British Painters

Hogarth, The Marriage Contract

William Hogarth (1697-1764) is best known for his satirical drawings of 18^th century London life.

Reynolds, Miss Bowles

Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) is best known for being a portrait painter and the first president of the Royal Academy.

Stubbs, Bay Hunter by a Lake

George Stubbs (1724-1806) is best known for his paintings of horses.

Gainsborough, Mrs. Grace Dalryr

 Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) is best known for his paintings of ladies in big long dresses with large curly silver wigs.

Blake, Seven spirits of God

William Blake (1757-1827) is best known for his mystical religious paintings and his poetry.

Turner, Fishermen at sea

William Turner (1775-1851) is best known for his paintings of sea, sky, ships and landscapes.

Constable, the Cornfield

John Constable (1776-1837) is best known for his paintings of English country landscapes.

Palmer, Garden in Shoreham

Samuel Palmer (1803-1881) is best known for producing small landscapes with intense religious feelings.

Frith, Annie Gambart

William Powell Frith (1819-1909) is best known for being one of Queen Victoria´s favourite painters.

Millais, Leisure Hours

John Everett Millais (1829-1896) is best known for being one of the most prosperous artists in history.

Lowry, A Riverbank

L S Lowry (1887-1976) is best known for his paintings of British northern industrial towns. 

Bacon, Study for a Crucifixion

Francis Bacon (1909-1992) is best known for his graphic abstract figures.

Hockney, Pool with two figures

David Hockney (1937-) is best known for his paintings of Californian swimming pools and 1960s people.

References :

Johnson, Sarah and Jane Myles. London! Scholastic, 2007

Vaizey, Marina. 100 Masterpieces of Art. Peerage Books, 1979

Pancake Day

Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day in Britain is a great excuse for enjoying some pancakes.

 

In many places in Britain, there are pancake tossing competitions on Pancake Day. The person who cooks and tosses the most pancakes wins.

PANCAKES

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour
1 egg
1 cup of milk



Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients in a blender.


2. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat. Pour the batter onto the pan. Brown on both sides and serve hot.


3. TRY tossing the pancake but BE CAREFUL not to glue it to the ceiling.


One of the many great things about pancakes is that they provide a delicious breakfast as well as a yummy mid-afternoon snack if you feel like eating something sweet. There are many ways of serving pancakes:

The traditional British manner with freshly squeezed  lemon juice and sugar.

Simple with sugar and cinnamon

A popular choice with melted chocolate

A Madeira favourite with sugarcane honey

The famous Canadian and American Maple Syrup

The healthiest choice: fruit

Presidents’ Day

US Presidents’ Day originally marks the birth anniversary of US President George Washington (born on 22nd February 1732) and Abraham Lincoln (born on 12th February 1809), but it is considered to honour all US presidents.

It is a holiday celebrated on the 3^rd Monday in February.

Retailers use this holiday to promote sales, mainly car sales.

Faces of American Presidents in coins:

1- Cent coin (penny) - President Abraham Lincoln

5- Cent coin (nickel) - President Thomas Jefferson

10-Cent coin (dime) - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

25-Cent coin (quarter) – President George Washington

50-Cent coin – President John F. Kennedy

Faces of American Presidents in bills:

 $1- George Washington

$2 – Thomas Jefferson

$5- Abraham Lincoln

$10 – Alexander Hamilton (First Secretary of the Treasury)

$20 – Andrew Jackson

$50 – Ulysses S. Grant

$100 – Benjamin Franklin (Statesman)

How long can a President stay in the White House before everyone votes again?

Add:

the number of letters in the word MISSISSIPPI

the number of stripes on the US flag

the number of letters in the fourth month of the year

the number of cents in “a quarter”

Now take away

the number of stars in the US flag

Remember: People can elect a president for a second term, but not a third one.

Read more about American Presidents (in Portuguese)

Read the chronology of the American and Portuguese Presidents.

Now you can answer the Quiz about American Presidents


Read : The Fourth of July


References:
Myles, Jane. Holidays and Special Days in the USA.Scholastic, 2001

School Year 2011/2012

JANE EYRE- A love story

JANE EYRE- Lithograph by Paula Rego

Paula Rego is a Portuguese painter who lives and works in England. In Cascais you can find a collection of her works in Casa das Histórias. It opened in 2009 and the building is a work of the awarded Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura.

 

 

http://www.casadashistoriaspaularego.com/en/

JANE EYRE is a novel by Charlotte Brontë. It was published in 1847 and covers five stages:

1-   Jane's childhood at Gateshead, where she is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt and cousins;

2-   her education at Lowood School, where she makes acquaintance with friends but also suffers privations and oppression;

3-    her time as governess of Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with Mr. Rochester;

4-    her time with the Rivers family during which her cousin and clergyman proposes to her;

5-   and the finale with her marriage to her beloved Mr.Rochester.

There have been many adaptations of JANE EYRE for the screen.