sexta-feira, 7 de janeiro de 2011

Rihanna, The Umbrella Girl



Source: Speak Up
Standard: British accent
Language level: Advanced


The Umbrella Girl

You may have heard the song “Umbrella,” which has been all the rage in recent weeks. It’s sung by Rihanna and it forms part of her album, Good Girl Gone Bad which was released in June. Good Girl Gone Bad is her third album, which is remarkable when you consider that she is only 19 years old. Rihanna, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is from the Caribbean island of Barbados and she was discovered at the age of 15 by a record producer, Evan Rogers, who happened to be vacationing there.

“Umbrella” is accompanied by an exciting video which, as Rihanna explains, is directed by Chris Appelbaum:

Rihanna:

Standard: Barbadian or “Bajan” accent

Video, I had a lot of say in it, I actually talked to the director, Chris Applebaum. Directly we talked before he wrote the treatment and, fortunately, he got the treatment and he’s shooting the video and he’s doing a phenomenal job so far.

JAY-Z FOR ME

Both the song and video feature a guest appearance by the rapper Jaz-Z, who is also president of Rihanna’s label, Def Jam records:

Rihanna:

Jay getting on the track was a surprise, I recorded “Umbrella,” when I first heard it, I fell in love with it, It was like “I have to have this song!” it’s a really deep song. When it first starts off, you think it’s a sex song, but if..you have  to listen to the lyrics, it’s really really deep song. They just said, “We have a surprise for you and they wouldn’t tell me what it is so I couldn’t imagine that it would be Jay-Z getting on the song. And then, they finally said it to me, I got goosebumps everywhere! I mean, I still cannot believe that I’m shooting a video with Jay-Z, and I have song with Jay on it, it’s just incredible! That just takes everything to another level for me, in terms of experience in my career.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Indeed Jay-Z also spoke about the project:

Jay-Z

(African American accent)

Rihanna, it’s…we’ve all been together on this journey, of her growth, and we’s right there. So, it’s a different type of situation, it’s not just tending my vocals to a project. It’s a project and a person who I believe in.

Paul McCartney





Source: Speak Up
Standard: British accent
Language level: Basic



Paul McCartney

In recent years Sir Paul has been in the news on account of his traumatic relationship with Heather Mills. Now he’s back in the news, but for a better reason: he has released a new album, Memory Almost Full. It’s intended as a tribute to his first wife, Linda, who died of cancer in 1998. McCartney says she was the one true love of his life.

STARBUCKS!

Memory Almost Full is released through a new record label, Starbuck Hear Music, and is on sale worldwide through their coffee shops. Starbucks already sells compilations CDs through their shops, but McCartney is the first artist to sign to their record label. The title of his new album is an anagram of “For my soul mate LLM” (Linda Louise McCartney); the album also includes songs inspired by his recent painful divorce from Healther Mills.

Some youngsters have never heard of the Beatles, but back in the 1960s, these four lads from Liverpool – John, Paul, George, and Ringo – formed world’s most famous pop group: the Beatles. They had 20 US hits singles: their concerts were occasions of mass hysteria as their fans screamed so loud no one could hear the band. The Beatles gave their last live concert in 1966. The band split up in 1970. John Lennon, the most outspoken member of The Beatles, caused a scandal when he suggested the Beatles were more famous than Jesus, watch one of their early films, A Hard Day’s Night of Help! To get an idea of this crazy time.

YESTERDAY…

According to the Guiness Book of Records, McCartney is the most successful musician ever: more than 2.000 singers have recorded his song “Yesterday.” McCartney seems to have endless energy: in recent years he has released modern classical pieces (such as last year’s “Behold My Heart”): he’s organised art exhibitions of his paintings; and he’s published his poetry. He certainly isn’t stopping now: McCartney toured with his band to promote his new album, and appeared at Al Gore’s Live Earth concert in July.

Going Solo

McCartney formed the group wings after the break-up of the Beatles in 1970. As a solo artist, his career has been incredibly successful. He sang hit duets with Stevie Wonder (“Ebony and Ivory”) and Michael Jackson (“The Girl is Mine”),and starred at Live 8 with U2 – they performed the song “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” which became the latest hit single of all time: released just 45 minutes after their performance, it was an immediate hit around the world.



Technology



A long time ago keep in touch with someone was really difficult, writing letter, telegram took a lot of time, nowadays we can use different technologies in order to keep in touch with people around the world. Computers, laptops (Notebooks) Cell Phones, iPhone, iPod among others. 
Virtual dating, make friends around the world, practice English or a foreign language became easier nowadays. I love blogging and I'm sure a lot of Students use my blog to improve their English around the world. I also love to chit-chat on Skype, actually I was in a hurry this days, but as soon as possible I encourage friends to keep practicing English, mostly are Non-Native Learners, of course, as me, I'm a Self-Taught student. Of course, there are a lot of great private course, I recommend if you have money, take it, or do an interchange, otherwise study by yourself...by the way, you are not alone, 'cause we have a lot of teachers' sites, podcasts available on the net, will power is need, believe yourself, focusing and establishing targets are also important. Good luck and keep practicing, keep studying, as much as you dedicate, of course you're going to get there. Do not forget to promote my blog, of course if you like, don't you like? What a pit, I have to respect your viewpoint, just leave a comment expressing your idea. In conclusion, apologise me friends, 'cause you can find a lot of propagandas here, that's why I have no sponsors, I have used adsenses but people deleted my account click on the links. If you want to help me, share my blog or small donations through PAYPAL are welcome. See you around, and keep in touch through Skype. 

Family Album, part 25



For more info, search on youtube for Family Album and practice English a lot. 

American History: The 1920’s were an active and important period for the American arts

Source: www.voanews.com

Photo: loc.gov
Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park, Illinois




BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
There were many changes in the social customs and day-to-day life of millions of Americans during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge.
Many young people began to challenge the traditions of their parents and grandparents. They experimented with new ideas and ways of living. People of all kinds became interested in the new popular culture. Radio and films brought them exciting news of court trials, sports heroes and wild parties.
The nineteen twenties also was one of the most active and important periods for the more serious arts. Writers, painters, and other artists produced some of the greatest work in the nation's history.
This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe take a look at American arts during this exciting period.
KAY GALLANT: Most Americans approved strongly of the economic growth and improved living conditions during the nineteen twenties. They supported the conservative Republican policies of President Calvin Coolidge. And they had great faith in the country's business leaders and economic system.
However, many of the nation's serious artists had a different and darker view of society. They were troubled deeply by the changes they saw. They believed that Americans had become too interested in money and wealth.
These artists rejected the new business society. And they also questioned the value of politics. Many of them believed that the first World War in Europe had been a terrible mistake. These artists had little faith in the political leaders who came to power after the war. They felt a need to protest the way the world was changing around them.
HARRY MONROE: The spirit of protest was especially strong in serious American writing during the nineteen twenties. Many of the greatest writers of this period hated the new business culture.
One such writer was Sinclair Lewis. He was the first American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Lewis wrote about Americans living in the towns and villages in the central part of the United States. Many of the people in his books were foolish men and women with empty values. They chased after money and popularity. In his famous book "Main Street," Lewis joked about and criticized small-town business owners.
Social criticism also was central to the writing of the newspaper writer H. L. Mencken, from the eastern city of Baltimore. Mencken considered most Americans to be stupid and violent fools. He attacked their values without mercy.
Of course, many traditional Americans reacted strongly to such criticism. For example, some religious and business leaders attacked Mencken as a dangerous person whose words were treason against the United States. But many young people thought Mencken was a hero whose only crime was writing the truth.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
loc.gov

F. Scott Fitzgerald
KAY GALLANT: The work of Lewis, Mencken, and a number of other writers of the nineteen twenties has been forgotten by many Americans as the years have passed. But the period did produce some truly great writing.
One of the greatest writers of these years was Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway wrote about love, war, sports, and other subjects. He used short sentences and rough words. His style was sharper and different from traditional American writing. And his strong views about life set him apart from most other Americans.
Another major writer was F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald wrote especially about rich Americans searching for happiness and new values. His books were filled with people who rejected traditional beliefs. His book "The Great Gatsby" is considered today to be one of the greatest works in the history of American writing.
A third great writer of the nineteen twenties was William Faulkner.
Faulkner wrote about the special problems and ways of life in the American south. His books explored the emotional tension in a society still suffering from the loss of the Civil War sixty years before. Some of Faulkner's best books were "The Sound and The Fury," "As I Lay Dying" and "Absalom, Absalom." Like Hemingway, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
(MUSIC)
HARRY MONROE: The nineteen twenties also produced the greatest writer of theater plays in American history, Eugene O'Neill.
O'Neill was an Irish-American with a dark and violent view of human nature. His plays used new theatrical methods and ways of presenting ideas. But they carried an emotional power never before seen in the American theater. Some of his best known plays were "Mourning Becomes Electra," "The Iceman Cometh" and "A Long Day's Journey into Night."
A number of American writers also produced great poetry during the nineteen twenties. Probably the most famous work was "The Waste Land," a poem of sadness by the writer T. S. Eliot.
KAY GALLANT: There also were important changes in American painting during the nineteen twenties. Economic growth gave many Americans the money to buy art for their homes for the first time. Sixty new museums opened. Slowly, Americans learned about serious art.
Actually, American art had been changing in important ways since the beginning of the century.
In nineteen-oh-eight, a group of New York artists arranged a historic show. These artists tried to show real life in their paintings. They painted new kinds of subjects. For example, George Bellows painted many emotional and realistic pictures of the sport of boxing. His work, and the painting of other realistic artists, became known as the "Ash Can" school of art.
Another important group of modern artists was led by the great photographer Alfred Stieglitz. This group held a major art show in nineteen thirteen in New York, Chicago, and Boston. The show presented modern art from Europe. Americans got their first chance to see the work of such painters as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.
The show caused a huge public debate in the United States. Traditional art critics accused the organizers of the show of trying to overthrow Christianity and American values. Former president Theodore Roosevelt and others denounced the new art as a threat to the country.
However, many young American painters and art lovers did not agree. They became very interested in the new art styles from Europe. They studied them closely.
Soon, Charles Demuth, Joseph Stella, and other American painters began to produce excellent art in the new Cubist style. John Marin painted beautiful views of sea coasts in New York and Maine. And such artists as Max Weber and Georgia O'Keeffe painted in styles that seemed to come more from their own imagination than from reality.
As with writing, the work of many of these serious modern painters only became popular many years later.
HARRY MONROE: The greatest American designer of buildings during the nineteen twenties was Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright believed that architects should design a building to fit its location, not to copy some ancient style. He used local materials in new ways. Wright invented many imaginative methods to combine useful building design with natural beauty.
But again, most Americans did not know of Wright's work. Instead, they turned to local architects with traditional beliefs. These architects generally designed old and safe styles for buildings -- for homes, offices, colleges, and other needs.
KAY GALLANT: Writers and artists now look back at the roaring nineteen twenties as an extremely important period that gave birth to many new styles and ideas.
Hemingway's style of writing continues to influence American writers. Many painters say the period marked the real birth of modern American art. And architecture students in the United States and other countries now study the buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright.
The changes in American society caused many of these artists much sadness and pain in their personal lives. But their expression of protest and rich imagination produced a body of work that has grown in influence with the passing years.
(MUSIC)
BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written by David Jarmul. The narrators were Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe.
You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and images at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English. Join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- an American history series in VOA Special English.
___
This is program #17
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quinta-feira, 6 de janeiro de 2011

The Ice Hotel


Source: Speak Up
Standard: American accent
Language Level: Basic
Speaker: Chuck Rolando


THE ICE HOTEL

Would you like to sleep on a bed of ice? How about a drink at a bar made entirely of snow and ice? Perhaps you’d prefer to sit in a hot tub while snowflakes fall from the open sky?

Canada’s extraordinary Ice Hotel, located 32 kilometres northwest of Quebec City, offers all this and more. Every year the hotel opens on January 5th and closes around April 1st, when spring brings warm weather and the snow begins to melt. Visitors enter the Ice Hotel’s magnificent lobby with its 5.4 metre-high ceiling and unique ice candelabra. They warm up with a drink at the Bar Absolut and then tour the hotel’s art galleries and exhibition rooms.

Evening entertainment is provided in the splendid banquet halls, the N’Ice Club, an enormous ballroom, and the Ice Lounge. The hotel’s Ice Chapel offers the perfect setting for memorable weddings.

DRESSING UP

What clothes must visitors wear? Outside temperatures can reach -30ºC, so clothing is very important, though the hotel’s 1.5 metre-thick walls ensure internal temperatures don’t drop below -5ºC. Three layers of clothing are recommended: an inner layer of thermal underwear, then a woolen shirt or fleece, and finally a ski jacket and trousers. Don’t forget your hat and gloves! Night clothes should be lighter, but wear a night cap and socks.

The original Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden inspired Canadian owner Jacques Desbois. As he says: “If they can do that in Sweden, we can do it here in Quebec, the snow capital of the world.”

Craftsmen take five weeks to build the hotel; they use 15.000 tons of snow and 500 tons of ice. This is now the hotel’s sixth year.

PLAN B

Visitors can book a night in one of the 34 rooms and theme suites, each of which is a work of art in itself. The beds do have a base formed of ice, but don’t worry as they also have special foam mattresses. Price starts at €470 a night, and include a reservation at the nearby Station Touristique Duchesnay Hotel.

If guests find the conditions impossible at any time during their stay, they can simply move into their heated rooms at the Station Hotel.

Near French-speaking Quebec City

The Ice Hotel is located at the Station Turistique Duchesnay on the shores of Lake St. Joseph. The nearest airport is Quebec International Airport, which is a short drive from the hotel The Station Touristique Duchesnay is the perfect location for a winter holiday. The station offers a variety of activities. Visitors can learn how to make an igloo or take a short course in dog sledging. Don’t expect a quiet ride: you will be in charge of your own sledge and a team of huskies.

Nearby Quebec City is well worth a visit for its narrow historic streets – it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a French-speaking region, but most people are also fluent in English.

Telephone: (1) 418-875-4522


The beauty of life Food for your thought

Nothing is impossible, believe yourself, never give up, friends and go ahead. Have a wonderful day