Para quem ele sorri? / Who has he smiled at?

Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil - (Clique aqui para expandir a foto / Click here to expand the shot)

O quê o criador dessa imagem tinha em mente quando a pintou no muro? quem ou o quê provocou esse sorriso intrigante?

What has the creator of this graphite had in mind when he has painted it on the wall? Who or what has caused that intriguing smile?

Um Carro Bem Humorado - A Humorous Car

Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil - (Clique aqui para expandir a foto / Click here to expand the shot)


As pessoas adoram carros. Muitas até mesmo estabelecem uma relação íntima com suas máquinas, atribuindo a elas características humanas. Não seria esse um caso?

People love cars. Many of them even establish an intimate relationship with their machines, attributing to them human caracteristicas. Isn't it a case?

Esportes e Comunicação - Sports & Communication

Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil - (Clique aqui para expandir a foto / Click here to expand the shot)

A incorporação de palavras estrangeiras é uma das formas como as línguas se tranformam e criam novos significados. A língua portuguesa não está livre desse fenômeno. A imagem acima mostra o rastro deixado pela tribo do "skate", um esporte radical praticado por jovens que coloca sua marca não apenas nos murais urbanos, mas também na comunicação.

Incorporating foreign words is one of the ways languages transform themselves and produce new meanings. The Portuguese language is not free from that phenomena. The shot above shows the track of the tribe of skate, a radical sport performed by young guys which put its mark not only on the urban murals, but also in communication.

Não há Democracia nos Muros - No Democracy on The Walls

Ribeirão Preto/SP, Brasil

Estilo, informalidade e muitas vezes mistério estão no ar. As mensagens que habitam os muros das cidades muitas vezes não são democráticas; são tribais. Qual foi a intenção do artista ao criar esse grafite?

Style, informality and sometimes mystery are in the air. The messages which live on the walls of cities, towns and villages are not democratic; they are tribal. What intention did the creator of this graphite have in mind when he drew it?

Skate

A incorporação de palavras da língua inglesa no português é um fato normal. Afinal, o mundo se tornou uma aldeia global, onde a comunicação rompe as barreiras físicas, culturais e linguísticas.

Incorporating English words into the Portuguese language is a normal fact. After all, the world became a global village where communication goes beyond physical, cultural and linguistic barriers.

Oxford English Dictionary Oficializa Abreviações

Aqueles que condenam as abreviações usadas pelos jovens no MSN e nos torpedos foram supreendidos esta semana por uma notícia inesperada. O tradicionalíssimo Dicionário da Língua Inglesa, Oxford English Dictionary (OED), acaba de incorporar algumas abreviações, como "OMG" (Oh my god) e "LOL"(laughing out loud), em seu conteúdo, reconhecendo-as, assim, como termos oficiais.
Novos tempos, novas ideias. Afinal, parece que em termos de linguagem, somos bem mais tradicionais que os ingleses.

Referências:

Listas das novas palavras do OED

Matéria do Los Angeles Times (em inglês)

Using a Memo Game in an English Lesson

The use of ludic activities, as a memo game for example, can be very useful in several situations.

Professor David Crystal Explains Global English

Professor David Crystal is one of the most important linguists nowadays. In this video he explains in few words and clearly not only the origin of Global English, but also what it really is as well as why it is acquiring a so remarkable global position.

If you are an English language lerner and are interested in knowing more about the current hole of English around the World, you can't help to watch this video. Feel free to comment!

An Insane Playoff Stunt

Crazy! Wonderful! Unbelievable!

You could use one of this adjectives to label the acrobatic stunt of Bango, the funny Bucks' mascot, from a 16ft ladder to throw down at the Bucks home Playoff Game 4 at the Bradley Center.

Don't you believe it? So check the video and make your comment!

São Paulo's old times

Dear friends & students, I'd like to recomend you to watch this spectacular video about São Paulo. In addition to taking the opportunity to practice your English listening and understanding, you will also be able to keep contact with an old view about the "terra da garoa" that exists no more. It is really a document about São Paulo's history and culture. So enjoy it!

Making things happen

This morning, I really don't have anything special to write about. However, writing is something crucial for a writer. So, thinking of an attractive subject to serve as inspiration, I suddenly discovered that one has to make things happen if he really wants to write a text.

After reflecting some minutes on this matter, I don't have any subject to write about yet. However, I found two excellent quotations which can lead me to find (or invent) a good story. Please, read it with me:


"I don't want to sit around and hope good things happen. I want to make them happen." — Drew Barrymore

"Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... they push the human race forward... because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." — Steve Jobs


Dear friend, take this opportunity and reflect about this matter too. Who knows if you can find something good to think and write about. For my part, I continue looking for my inspiration...

Have a nice day.


By Orlando Ribeiro
on 02/24/2010

Do you have courage to bobsled?

Vancouver is giving the World the opportunity to experience marvelous moments with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. One of the sports that catchs my attention is bobsled. But, as on can ask me, what is bobsled? So I have only one tip to give you, my friend: remember that famous movie named "Cool Runnings"? Yes. That is bobsled!

Bobsled is a winter sport which is also known as bobsleigh, bobsleding or bobsledge was created in the 19th century by Americans and Englishmen who was on vacation in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

In its practice, teams composed by two or four people make timed runs down a narrow, twisting, banked, iced half-pipe track in a gravity-powered sled.

The first time Men's four-crew bobsled took part in Winter Olympic Games was in 1924, and men's two-crew bobsled was added in 1932. Women's bobsled started competing in the early 1990s, and women's two-crew bobsled appeare for the first time in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Furthermore, there are very important Bobsled competitions as American, European, and World Cup championships.

International bobsled competitions are ruled by the Fédération Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing (FIBT).


Please, click on the link to watch a wild ride on a bobsled on Youtube.

Source: Wikipedia

By Orlando Ribeiro
on Feb 20, 2010

Festival Brazil in London

From Jun 19 to Set 5, 2010 Festival Brazil is presenting in London not only what a "baiana" has, but also the Brazilian multifaceted cultural heritage which includes music, visual arts, dance, literature, debates and food.

Conceived to emphasize the importance of Brazil in the world scenario, Festival Brazil will show Brazilian stars like the singer Maria Bethânia, the song-writer Gilberto Gil, the legendary psychedelic rock band Os Mutantes and the tropicália star Tom Zé.

In addition, the Festival Brazil will still count on many other attractions including the fantastic performance of the world masters of capoeira; the Campana Brothers, Brazil's most famous designers; Socrates, the captain of the great Brazilian football team of the eighties; Arnaldo Antunes, a writer and performer who is beyond boundaries thanks to his poetry and music experiments in video and fine arts.

In truth, Brazil has much more than football, beautiful women and beaches to offer the World. Please access the Southbank Centre website to get detailed information about the event.


Fonte: Southbank Centre

Festival Brazil Video

Londres receberá festival de cultura brasileira (portuguese)

By Orlando Ribeiro
on 02/15/2010

Valentine's Day Tradition

Valentine's Day , traditionally known as Saint Valentine's Day, is an annual celebration that takes place on February 14. It celebrates love and affection not only between lovers, but also between companions.

The history of Valentine's Day is surrounded by various fanciful legends. According to the Infoplease Encyclopedia, It has his roots in a ancient Roman festival called Lupercalia, which celebrated fertility every year on February 15. In the 5th century, Pope Gelasius I recast this pagan festival as a Christian feast day, establishing February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day.

According to tradition, Valentines's day is a special day on which lovers give expression to their love for each other by gifting flowers, offering candy and other sweets as well as sending greeting cards (aka "valentines").

Currently, Valentine's Day counts on particular symbols including the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the charming figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have been replaced to mass-produced greeting cards.

SOURCE: Wikipedia.org

Please, visit the following links for getting more information about the Valentine's Day:

Valentines's day (wikipedia.org)

Valentine's Day History (Text)

Valentine's Day History (Video)


By Orlando Ribeiro
02/10/2010

Below, beneath, under

Prepositions are really a difficult subject for students. Frequentley they face trouble to understand their meaning as well as their application. That is the case of the prepositions bellow, beneath and under.

Let's check some information and examples about them:

Below
1. under, beneath, underneath, lower than: The boat dipped below the surface of the water.
2. less than, under, lower than, smaller than, not as much as: Night temperatures can drop below 15 degrees Celsius.
3. subordinate to, under, subject to, inferior to, subservient to, lesser than: What is the title of the position below general manager in a restaurant?

Beneath
1. under, below, underneath, lower than: She found pleasure in sitting beneath the trees.
2. inferior to, below, secondary to, not good enough for, lower in status than, not as im

portant as: She decided he was beneath her.
3. unworthy of, unfitting for, unsuitable for, inappropriate for, unbefitting: Many find themselves having to take jobs far beneath them.

Under
1.
a. In a lower position or place than: There is a rug under a chair.
b. To or into a lower position or place than: She rolled the ball under the couch.
2. Beneath the surface of: under the ground: They swam under water.
3. Beneath the assumed surface or guise of: He traveled under a false name.

According to Thefrredictionary the preposition under offer more alternatives of use. We only posted three of them. So if you ned to know more, please visit the website. Anyway, there's nothing but practice to guide us in dominating the use of prepositions.

SOURCE: Thefreedictionary.com


By Orlando Ribeiro
02/10/2010

Dining or having dinner?

According to the online dictionary Thefreedictionary.com the verb to dine comes from the Old French term disner, contracted from Vulgar Latin disjējūnāre and its pronunciation is: dine [daɪn].
The referred verb presents three different applications:

1. (intr) to eat dinner: he didn't dine yesterday.

2. (intr; often foll by on, off, or upon) to make one's meal (of): the guests dined on roast beef.

3. (tr) Informal to entertain to dinner (esp in the phrase to wine and dine someone): He wines and dines Betty like a queen.

Special meanings:
Dine in:  eat at home - He dines in on wednesdays.
Dine out: eat at a restaurant or at somebody else's home - He dines out at the Carlton all the week.
As we just finished to discover, when someone is hungry he can solve the problem having dinner or dining.

By Orlando Ribeiro
02/1/2010

The First Goal

Everyone should consider wisdom as his first goal. Please read and reflect deeply on the following quotations, and see how useful for life wisdom is.

"There are many obstacles to overcome, but toil, grit and endurance will help you to overcome them all. Help yourself and others will help you." — William Boyce

"It's human nature to stretch, to go, to see, to understand. Exploration is not a choice, really; it's an imperative." — Michael Collins, Apollo 11's command module pilot

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination." — Tommy Lasorda

"It is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things" (Henry David Thoreau).

"In those homely sayings was couched the collective wisdom of generations" (Maya Angelou).

Brazil Inaugurates The First South American Chip Plant

The first South American chip plant, called Centro Nacional em Tecnologia Eletronica Avançada (Ceitec), was inaugurated on last February 5, 2010 in Porto Alegre City, Brazil. Created in 2008, Ceitec received investments of R$400 million from the Brazilian Science and Technology Ministry.

Located in a complex of 14600 squared meters, the company targets to develop semiconductors in Brazil, generating conditions to consolidate the advanced microelectronic industry. That segment corresponds only to 1.7% of  Brazilian GDP.

Although it is a little bit late to begin, nothing is impossible when work and dedication are in the scene.

Source: Agência Brasil - Governo inaugura primeira fábrica de chip da América Latina (Portuguese)

Orlando Ribeiro
on February 6, 2010.

Fix the dinner: is it right?

Teachers should never understimate students because they always have important previous knowledge. Today morning I got one more evidence about this statement.

Mr. Sidnei, one of my English students, built a good sentence using the verb "to fix" in the sense of  "to prepare" in the simple past tense. I have never used this meaning so I considered it at least strange. However, I told him I would look for that meaning later.

Dear Mr. Sidnei, you were right about using the verb to fix in that sense. Check the explanation I have got on thefreedictionary.

Fix:
To make ready; prepare:

"fixed the room for the guests";
"fix lunch for the kids";
"fixed himself a milkshak"

Thanks for helping me to get another view about this matter as well as for let me not forget that teachers don't know everything!

A big hug!

Getting involved or getting committed?

What is the diference between getting involved and getting committed with anything?

Can you answer that question? If you can't, please read the following story carefully. I assure you that after reading it you will surelly know the difference.

A pig and a chicken are walking down a road. The Chicken looks at the pig and says "Hey, why don't we open a restaurant?" The pig looks back at the chicken and says "Good idea, what do you want to call it?" The chicken thinks about it and says "Why don't we call it 'Ham and Eggs'?" "I don't think so" says the pig, "I'd be committed but you'd only be involved."

Now you know for sure.