OBAMA HAS BEEN RE-ELECTED

Last night President Obama has been re-elected, so he will be in the White House for another four years.

Obama's victory has  been very disputed but the states of Ohio and Iowa have given the re-election to the President.

Now we have to congratulate the Democrat Party and all the people in the United States for having voted in peace and liberty and for having the biggest democracy in the world.

BONFIRE NIGHT IN LEWES

Bonfire night was celebrated yesterday in Great Britain.

So, here you have a video with all the traditions of parades with torches, bonfires and fireworks in an English village called Lewes.

Enjoy it!

GUY FAWKES STORY

On November the fifth of 1605 there was a conspiracy to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London.

This plot included to kill King James I . The conspiracy was led by Guy Fawkes in protest for the mistreatment of catholics in England at that time.


They were discovered and executed. And in order of not to forget this treason,  British celebrate this day with fireworks, bonfires and parades with torches.

Here you have a video with the story.

HURRICANE SANDY

This week a hurricane called Sandy has entered the United States and has caused a lot of trouble and floods all over the east coast.

In the states of Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland many towns have almost lost their streets because they are flooded.

In New York city many people were evacuated and Wall Street, United Nations and other public institutions didn't open last Tuesday. Schools and the metro were closed as well in prevention of the problems the hurricane could produce.

President Obama and the candidate Mitt Romney cancelled meetings and dedicated their time warning people and visiting damaged towns.

Today the situation is getting better and electricity is coming to the places where it was cut.

Here you have a video of the day of the disaster.

THE BEATLES

Fifty years ago, on the fifth of October of 1962,  the Beatles released their first hit "Please love me do". With this song they began a long and successful career that lasted till 1975 when they split up.

They got more than twenty number ones including: "Can't buy me love", "Sargeant Pepper's lonely hearts club band" and "Let it be"among others.

The Beatles became famous all over the world. They went on tour to the United States and they even visited Spain.

Nowadays their music is still listened in many places and they are considered symbols of the decade of the sixties. Two of the members are dead: John Lennon was shot in 1981 and George Harrison died of cancer.

Enjoy these videos of the band of Liverpool and see why they are a legend of pop music


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JAMES BOND

It was on the 5th of October of 1962 that the first James Bond film appeared on the screen.

James Bond was already famous because he was a character in books written  by Ian Fleming. But he became known all over the world when Sean Connery played the role of the secret agent in 1962. It was a great success, so more films were made . When Sean Connery left the saga, other actors took his place.

Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig have been in the role of 007 since that time. Even Daniel Craig appeared  in the ceremony of the Olympic Games with the Queen flying over London.

Spain has been important in some James Bond films as Cadiz and Bilbao were filming sets in two occasions.

And in the next one Daniel Craig has a Spanish enemy: Javier Bardem is the evil character in this film.

Here you have one video to remember this great character: James Bond at the service of his Majesty.


 

FLYING OVER USA

With this video you can see  many famous and amazing parts of the United States. It's like travelling by plane but with your computer.

I hope you'll enjoy it.


 

THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Hello students,
Here we are again starting this new year with a lot of illusion and expectations.

I think we can remember the Olympic Games which were held in London in August. Did you see them on TV? Spain won sixteen medals and another twenty in the Paralympic Games.

Usain Bolt won several medals for Jamaica and Michael Phelps retired in these games but he broke the record of gold medals that had been in the possesion of another famous American swimmer: Mark Spitz.

Well, we saw many exciting moments and enjoyed the variety of people who took part in so many sports.

London was a perfect place for the marathon and it looked really gorgeous.

Let's watch some videos to review these wonderful events.

 

THE TOLERANCE OF CROWS

Here you have a poem by an Irish poet who died near here during the Civil War. He came to Spain with the International Brigades. You have the translation into Spanish.

A bit of poetry to relax in these days of turmoil.

Let's hope all your exams will be perfect.

LA TOLERANCIA DE LOS CUERVOS

(Charlie Donnelly)

La muerte llega abundante desde problemas
resueltos sobre el mapa, desde sabias disposiciones,
desde ángulos de elevación y de tiro;

llega inocente desde artilugios que los niños
querrían usar y guardar bajo su almohada,
e inocentemente empala cualquier cuerpo.

Tras la carne cae también la mente,
sale el pensamiento de la mente y se tronchan
los proyectos enfocados a la meta ansiada.

Se detiene el avance del veneno en los nervios.
Colapso de la disciplina.
El cuerpo sólo espera la tolerancia de los cuervos.

[Traducción extraída del libro 'Bob Doyle: memorias de un rebelde sin pausa'].

The Tolerance of Crows

(Charlie Donnelly)

Death comes in quantity from solved
Problems on maps, well ordered dispositions,
Angles of elevation and direction;

Comes innocent from tools children might
Love, retaining under pillows,
Innocently impales on any flesh.

And with flesh falls apart the mind
That trails thought from mind that cuts
Thought clearly for a waiting purpose.

Progress of poison in the nerves and
Discipline’s collapse is halted.Body awaits the tolerance of crows.

THE WONDERLAND

In Germany there is a very big recreation of some parts of Europe from Scandinavia , Germany, Switzerland and Austria. And Colorado in the United States.

There are trains, buses, cars, ships and even an airport. And they go through mountains , towns and the air.

Miniature people and animals live in this small world moving and acting. Many visitors have admired this work of art which is controlled by four computers with a specific software.

The creators are working to add more places such as France and parts of Africa. But apparently they are not thinking of including Spain. What a pity! It would be fantastic to have a small Alhambra there.

GRAND NATIONAL 2012

Last Saturday the famous Grand National Horse Race took place in England.  The Grand National is a  race where horses run for more than seven kilometres jumping big walls.

The race is held in Aintree, a village near Liverpool. It is a very important event and many people watch it all over the world. People in Great Britain like it not only for the amazing view of the horses, but because they can bet for the winner and they can win a lot of money. Nowadays with Internet you can easily bet online.

The bad part of the race is that an average of two horses die every year. This time it was not different. Unfortunately, the race is very hard and two horses broke their legs. Afterwards, these horses were killed.

There have been many writings against the danger of this race and probably there will be changes in the future.

Here you have a video about the two dead horses. I hope you like it, though it is very sad. And there are two pictures. One of the winner of the race and other of the elegant people who go to the race.

TITANIC, CENTENNARY

On the tenth of April this year the city of Southampton remembered the story of the Titanic. It was one hundred years ago when the ship left this city on a luxurious voyage to New York.

As you know the Titanic never arrived to her destiny and sank in the ocean. Many people died and it became one of the most famous tragedies on the sea.

Here you have a video of the events held in Southampton with family of the dead throwing flowers on the sea as a hommage to the victims.

OSCAR CEREMONY 2012

   Yesterday the Oscar ceremony took place in Los Angeles. All the most important people in the film industry was there.

This year some things were different. The best film of the year is French and mute. Nobody speaks in this film called "The artist". And it is in black and white too, so it is quite strange in the Hollywood world.


The supporting actress award was for a black actress and the supporting actor for Chistopher Plummer, who is eighty two years old. Other remarkable facts in the Oscar ceremony history.

Here you have a video with the red carpet and an interview with one of the winners.

BRITISH MUSIC AWARDS

Yesterday the British music awards were given in London. Many famous singers and bands were in the ceremony and some of your favourite artists received prizes.

Adele received the best album award and Rihanna the best foreign singer. And Coldplay the best pop band, as always.

They remembered Whitney Houston and Amy Whinehouse and there were live performances by Adele and Rihanna. Even the Spanish footballer, Cesc Fábregas was there to give a prize.

My favourite was Bruno Mars who sang a very romantic melody. Here you have the video when he received the prize of best male pop singer. I hope you like it.

ST VALENTINE'S DAY

  On the fourteenth of February we celebrate St Valentine's day. In Spain the tradition is quite recent, since the sixties of the last century, but in the United States they have been sending love cards since the nineteenth century.

It is a day when people celebrate love and friendship and they give and receive cards and presents. They even have special food , for example heart shape cakes.


It is not important to spend a lot of money in your gift. And it is not necessary  to have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can send your love to a friend or a member of your family.

Here you have two videos. In the second you can find original ideas for this day.

Happy St Valentine!

CHARLES DICKENS

Yesterday ,seventh of  February, it was the bicentenary of Charles Dickens's birth. Dickens was one of the best and most famous novelists of the XIX century in Britain.

He was born the seventh of February of 1812 in Portsmouth and he died the nineth of June of 1870 after being in a train accident. During his childhood he had terrible experiences. First, his father went to jail because of financial problems. So, at the age of twelve Dickens had to work in a factory. He and other boys worked in dreadful conditions. They were in very small places under stairs and there were a lot of rats around them. Dickens suffered a lot and he used what he lived in those days in his books, for example in" David Copperfield."

The family received some money and he finally could go to school. Later he began working in newspapers and writing stories. These stories were published in episodes and very soon his writings became very popular.
Many of his books are a reflection of the difficulties of the working class during the Industrial Revolution as in "Little Dorrit" and "Oliver Twist".

"A Christmas Carol" is a very famous short story which was very popular in the United States, where Dickens travelled twice.

Here you have two videos. In the first you can see Dickens's house in London and in the second the social environment of his time.

SUPERBOWL 2012

Hello students. Yesterday night there was a huge festivity in the United States. There was the final of the Super bowl. The final of American football, one of the most popular sports in the USA. The Giants from New York versus The Patriots from Boston. This time the winners were the members of the team of New York

Many people went to the stadium, but most of the people watched the match on TV, at home or in bars. The typical food this day is chicken wings, hamburgers and beer, of course. One of three people were yesterday in front of the TV, even  in the White House there was a reunion to watch the match.

There is always a performance of a famous singer between the two parts, and this year Madonna has been the star. Here you have a video to see her. She promised to be a good girl, so she wasn't very provocative this time.The sound is not very good, but you can see the amazing dances and lights.

REMANDO AL VIENTO

The other day we were speaking about films. Now I want you to know a very beautiful and strange film: Remando al viento. It is a Spanish film from 1987. Why is it interesting for us? Well, the story is about some British people and it was shot in English. British actors like Hugh Grant and Elizabeth Hurley took part in the film and Spanish actors like Aitana Sánchez Gijón and José Luis Gómez. They all spoke in English. The director is Gonzalo Suárez and the film was quite famous when it was released.

The film is about some British poets: Lord Byron and Percy B. Shelley and his wife Mary. They were famous poets in the time of Romanticism and  their writings are considered some of the best in the English language.

Mary Shelley wrote a short novel which was later very well known: Frankenstein. In the film Mary tells the other writers how she created the monster and how she suffered from it.


You have two videos here. In the first you can see the names of the actors and see the atmosphere of the film. I n the second you see one of the last scenes. I hope you'll like them.

GLOBE AWARDS

Yesterday night there was a huge celebration in Los Angeles: the ceremony of the Globe Awards. Actors and actresses, films and TV series receive awards every year.

It is said that the people and films that win in the Globe awards have many possibilies of winning an Oscar.

The presenter of the show has made a lot of jokes, some not very polite. He said that he could not understand Antonio Banderas speaking English. So, study English, you could be the next.

Anyway, here is a video with the best moments of the show.Enjoy it.