Sunday, May 31, 2009

Thanks and see you soon!

I hope you all do well in your final exams. Whether you pass or not, keep practising your English and learning things about the culture of the English-speaking countries while having fun here on the blog this summer. There are lots of funny videos (most of them subtitled or with the script) about lots of different topics which you can find under LABELS (left column bottom). Thank you for visiting the blog!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

French and Saunders - Learning foreign languages



French & Saunders is a British sketch comedy television show written by and starring Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. Widely popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, the duo continue to film holiday specials for the BBC, and both have been successful starring in their own shows.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

English for seniors


English for seniors
Dobro veče (=good evening in Serbian). Let's start our lesson.
I am a grandmother.
I am a grandmother.
You are a grandmother.
You are a grandmother.
He is a grandmother.
He is a grandmother.
Careful! Something is wrong here. Please think: He cannot be a grandmother.
Bako Bakice (=grandmother in Serbian)...
Shut the fuck up!

David Bowie- Space Oddity


Alanis Morissette - Ironic



Saturday, May 23, 2009

New Zealand hunts accidental millionaires


WELLINGTON (AFP) - New Zealand police said Thursday they had launched an international hunt for a couple who fled after reportedly having millions of dollars mistakenly paid into their bank account.
Reports said an Asian couple who ran a petrol station in the northern city of Rotorua had fled overseas after Westpac bank mistakenly deposited 10 million dollars (six million US) in their account.
Police and the bank refused to say how much money was withdrawn or give any details of the couple, but the bank said it was "pursuing vigorous criminal and civil action."
Rotorua police Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey said the bank had recovered some of the money.
"The individuals associated with this account are believed to have left New Zealand and police were working through Interpol to locate those individuals," he said.
A Westpac spokesman said human error was responsible for the windfall.

Sting - Fields of gold



Norah Jones - Come away with me



Tuesday, May 19, 2009

George Clooney - What else?



Women:
- Dark, very intense, balanced, unique, mysterious... An intense body. Delicate and smooth with strong character... Right.. Rich. Very rich. I'd say Latin America temperament. Deep and sensual. And then delicious after you taste.
George Clooney:
- You're talking about....Nespresso, right?
Women:
- Aha.
George Clooney:
- Yeah... What else?
Nespresso. What else?



Woman 1:
- Hello, you're George Clooney, aren't you?
George Clooney:
- Well, yes ...
Woman 1:
- I've seen all your films. You're so charming and you're so sexy ... so generous ...
Woman 2:
- Excuse me, are you Mr George Clooney?
George Clooney:
- No, you must be mistaken.
Nespresso. What else?

Woman:
- The red one.
Girl:
- Excuse me. I'm sorry, do you mind if I ...
George Clooney:
- Of course. I don't think I have a pen
Girl:
- I just want a Nespresso.
George Clooney:
- Oh, Nespresso, what else?
Woman:
- Excuse, where have you been? I've been waiting for my car for about 5 minutes. I've been ... I didn't recognise you. How have you been, Camilla?
Girl:
- I've been really good.
Woman:
- It's great to see you. I think I talked to your mother 10 minutes ago.
Nespresso, what else?

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Word of the week 18- 24 May 2009 DOWNTOWN / UPTOWN

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core or central business district, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense.

The term is thought to have been coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement (the "up" and "down" terminology in turn came from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south). Thus, anything north of the original town became known as "uptown", while the original town (which was also New York's only major center of business at the time) became known as "downtown".

During the late 19th century, the term was gradually adopted by cities across the United States and Canada to refer to the historical core of the city (which was most often the same as the commercial heart of the city).

Uptown is a residential part of town away from the central commercial district. The word uptown originated in the New York city train stations. As you leave downtown Manhattan the trains direct you to Uptown. Uptown includes Harlem, East Harlem, Washinton Heights, Inwood and (sometimes) the South Bronx.













Saturday, May 16, 2009

The best job in the world

JANUARY 2009

WONG:
Depressed about the global economy, unemployed, or just looking for adventure? Then look no further because a tiny Australian island is offering a dream job, advertising globally to find the right person.
STORY:
Australian tourism officials are looking for a caretaker for the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.
[Anthony Hayes, CEO Queensland Tourism]:
"This really is the best job in the world. It is a six month contract when you live in this beautiful luxury house, it is probably four or five million dollar house, right on the edge of Hamilton island looking out of the Pacific. We'll pay you 150,000 Australian dollars which is roughly 75,000 Euros for the six month contract and your job in a nutshell is to travel through out the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, experiencing everything that the islands have to offer."
The caretaker will spend six months visiting Hamilton Island promoting tourism through a video blog.
Duties include feeding ocean fish, cleaning a pool and collecting deliveries of mail that arrive by plane.
But the employee is also required to go scuba diving, snorkeling and hiking and to enjoy at least 25 nearby island resorts.
No skills or experience are required for the job that starts in July and there is no age requirement.
Queensland created the job as an antidote to the global economic slump and is advertising in 18 countries including the United States and China.
[Anthony Hayes, CEO Queensland Tourism]:
"I suspect the biggest catch is going to be trying to get rid of them after six months. I suspect somebody will want to stay forever. It is obviously a bit of fun but there is a serious side to it. I think we in the tourism industry are in for a fairly difficult twelve months ahead not just in Australia but worldwide the tourism industry is in for a difficult time. Our role is to try help our industry overcome the difficulties of the next 12 months, protect jobs."
Applicants must submit a one-minute video expressing interest in the Great Barrier Reef, a vast coral reef system that is classed as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
The campaign has already drawn more than 200 visitors to its website.

Applications are open until the end of February.


APRIL 2009

The selection process for The Best Job in the World is winding down. 16 candidates remain, but only one of them will become the representative for Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
With beautiful turquoise waters and white sandy beaches, Australias Great Barrier Reef attracts thousands of tourists every year.
Earlier this year The Best Job in the World was launched. The role is to be an island caretaker with a six-figure salary for six months of work.

34-thousand applicants applied for the job via YouTube, and now its down to just 16 lucky finalists. They come from places like Japan, Canada, China and even Australia.
The job received so much interest that the company's website initially crashed.
Officials say "The Best Job in the World" has generated publicity worth over a hundred-million dollars.
Tourism Queensland says it's just as important to get the right person for the job as getting publicity for the area.

[Anthony Hayes, CEO, Tourism QLD]:
"It has been strict all the way through and we have been paranoid about making sure that we have been fare and equitable with everyone who has applied. Thirty-four and a half thousand people sent us a one minute to start with so we needed to be really clean and careful to make sure that we treat everyone equally.
The winner, whoever he or she may be, will be announced in May.


MAY 2009

A winner has been announced in the best job in the world competition. Let's go to Queensland to find out the result.
[Anna Bligh, Queensland Premier]:
"From the United Kingdom, Ben Southall."
After an innovative marketing campaign by Tourism Queensland, 34-year-old Briton, Ben Southall was picked from 16 finalists in a highly publicized contest for 'the best job in the world'.
[Ben Southhall, Best Job in the World Winner]:
"I hope I can fill the boots as much as everybody is expecting, my swimming hopefully is up to standard and I look forward to all of the new roles and the responsibilities that the task involves."
Tourism Queensland hailed the advertising campaign as an enormous success, saying they managed to get $110 million worth of publicity for $1.7 million spent.
The campaign attracted nearly 34,700 video entries from almost 200 countries and surpassed all expectations in promoting tourism in the Australian state.
The job description? To explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef for six months and report back to Tourism Queensland and the world via blogs, a photo diary, video updates and interviews.
Also, if you feel like it, feed the fish, collect the mail and clean the pool - for $110,000.
Southall said he was looking forward to the job and he will be joined by his Canadian girlfriend soon.
The campaign highlighted the marketing potential of websites such as YouTube and Facebook.
Marketing experts say the announcement of the winner, who starts work on July 1, will not end the publicity.

Pachelbel's rant


Rob Paravonian is a comedian, best known for his "Pachelbel Rant" which parodies the use of the chord progression from Pachelbel's Canon in many popular songs.


Friday, May 15, 2009

Little Britain - The Scottish hotel

Eccentric Scot Ray runs the Ye Olde Hotel in Scotland. Like most Scottish people, Ray's not easy to communicate with, but in his case it's because he's a bit mad. Living in some sort of fantasy medieval world, he's incapable of giving a straight answer to a straight question, preferring instead to express himself through the medium of dance.












Fawlty Towers - Manuel 1,2,3

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Little Britain - Stage hypnotist Kenny Craig

Paul McKenna appears on "Little Britain Abroad" and bumps into hypnotist Kenny Craig, Paul's biggest fan.



Kenny Craig hypnotises his mother.

Paul McKenna: The power of the mind

Rob Brydon as Keith interviews Paul McKenna and tries to get to grips with the power of hypnosis.


Britain's weight-loss guru Paul McKenna hosts "I Can Make You Thin" on The Learning Channel.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Word of the week 11 - 17 May 2009 SWINE FLU

Swine has two meanings:
1. Any of various omnivorous, even-toed ungulates of the family Suidae, including pigs, hogs, and boars, having a stout body with thick skin, a short neck, and a movable snout.
2. A person regarded as brutish or contemptible.







Friday, May 8, 2009

Trolleybuses and double deckers in A Coruña

"The Q1's in Spain", a documentary by The London Trolleybus Preservation Society.
The first plans for the installation of a trolleybus system in this Galician city date from 1940, but the first trolleybuses, eight Hispano-Suizos, weren’t ordered before 1944, and the final opening of the first line, Pl. Pontevedra – Juán Flórez – Monelos, took place on July 26th 1948. The Hispano-Suizos were followed by several other series of trolleybuses: Vetras, Pegasos and finally second hand Q1s from London. Some of the latter were ‘beheaded’ for different reasons, mostly to avoid crashing in to protruding balconies in the narrow streets of old La Coruña. Expansion of the system continued into the 1960s: Ciudad Escolar - San Pedro de Visma, San Amaro - Avenida de Hércules. Around 1970 the system went into a gradual decline. The last line, route 2, closed down on January 4th 1979.



Thanks, Marcos. These images are priceless!

Wide awake : The boy who couldn't sleep

A toddler who can't sleep undergoes risky, life-changing surgery.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Creature Comforts (1989)

Everybody's a star in this Aardman Animations Oscar-winner in which animals discuss life at the zoo. Accustomed to open spaces and sunnier climates, they comment on the accomodation, diet and the English weather.

The Proms

Sir Roger Norrington (British conductor) gives a speech about what music means to him, and then conducts BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, BBC Symphony Chorus for Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches.

Excellent! Well, the Proms wouldn't be the Proms without the Prommers, would it? All you lovely people down there and you wonderful people up at the top. . Your... I'm talking about the musical ones! Your interest in music, your passion for music, the way you stand for hours and listen to it, your concentration is absolutely an example to us all. We love that. Not only do the Prommers have this wonderful endurance, but they even collect money for muical charities during the summer. Stage to Prommers, how much have you raised this year? Over 69,000! Sensational. Well done, everybody. Fantastic. Our thanks to you.

There's one last thank you I would like to propose. Maybe a slightly more personal one. It's for that magical thing which brings us altogether this evening - all of us in the halls, and homes, and hospitals, in the parks, in pubs, in prisons, I mean, of course, that fantastic thing - classical music. It's such extraordinary stuff. It never lets you own. And it's there for everyone. I think that is incredibly important to me. When I was filming Maestro last week, one of the cameramen got very excited about this classical music and he said, "I think it is fantastic, but what does it mean to you? " I was slightly taken aback by this. Afterwards I thought about it and this is what I thought: "Music brings us joy and love. Music deepens feeling. Music feeds our hearts and minds. Music brings us healing. Music can be so profound but music can be fun. Music quickens all our lives. Music makes us one.


So in this great family of music, let's continue singing and dancing and listening the whole year through until the first night of The Proms 2009. I will see you there. Can't wait! Good night.

Obama orders at Ray's Hell Burgers



Sunday, May 3, 2009

Word of the week 4 - 10 May 2009 FURKID


Furkid is a a compound noun (made by combining two words, in this case the nouns fur + kid) used mainly in American English for a pet such as a dog or a cat that is treated like a child by its owner.

Furkid is used by some animal lovers who feel that the word pet suggests the idea of owning something rather than describing the loving relationship that they have with their dog, cat, etc. Furbaby is another similar term for a baby pet that is like human baby for its owner.

We are thinking of adding another furkid to our family.

Please consider adopting your next furkid from a shelter or rescue organization.

Dress your furkid in the latest fashions.

I have a real kid and a furkid.



Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Mom Song

The Mom Song". Everything a Mom says in a 24 hour period, set to the "William Tell Overature"

Thanks, Conchi.