Television & Humor

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Television & Humor

A very funny double act

In the TV program “Os Caras de Pau”, comedians Leandro Hassum and Marcius Melhem make simple everyday scenes into the funniest stories

Dating, work, leisure [1], relationships with neighbors, relatives and friends ... It's all part of everyday life for millions of Brazilians.  This routine is also part of life for friends “Pedrão” and “Jorginho.” However, when they come into play [2], the most common everyday-life situations start to look like comic strips [3].  Pedrão and Jorginho are the two main characters in “Os Caras dePau,” aired early Sunday afternoon on Globo. Marcius Melhem plays Pedrão, while Leandro Hassum brings the character Jorginho to life. Their humor appeals [4] to kids and adults alike [5]. It is somewhat naive [6] but very creative and funny humor. They prove that it is possible to produce good comedy programs without resorting to malice [7].

A great friendship

Marcius and Leandro have been friends for over ten years. On television, their first partnership began in 2005, on the 'Zorra Total' show.  They stood out [8] as a bumbling pair of bodyguards [9]. The double-act's success led Globo to create a special program for them, “Os Caras de Pau.”  The "Hassum Melhem" partnership has also been a success in the theater. They have worked together on the hit play "Nós na Fita" for over five years.

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Journalist-turned-comedian

Marcius Melhem worked for several years as a journalist, specializing in economics, before becoming a comedy star

Marcius Melhem is really a surprising artist. In addition to making successful comedy shows, he has also worked on Globo soap operas.   Melhem stood out on the award winning soap opera "Caminho das Índias" (2009), playing the character Radesh.  Some years before, Marcius had played two bit parts in Globo soap operas: Mulheres Apaixonadas (2003) and Da Cor do Pecado (2004). Besides being a great actor, Marcius has written several plays and has also worked as writer on various Globo programs. But the most surprising fact in this 38-year-old Carioca father-of-two's career is that he used to be a journalist, specializing in economics.

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        Leandro:

  music as a hobby

   Leandro Hassum, 37, is also a Carioca. Before starting his career, he used to tell jokes to friends and relatives, but never thought of being an actor. It was thanks to a girlfriend that he decided to take a drama class. He enjoyed the experience and soon discovered he had talent. But before becoming a television star, Hassum worked as an actor in several plays (some of them for children).When not working, Hassum enjoys painting [10]  and playing guitar. In a recent interview he revealed to newspaper Extra that he was picked [11] on as a child because he was fat [12].

Matéria publicada na edição de número 58 da Revista Maganews.

Narração (CD de áudio) – David Hatton e Aasita Muralikrishna

Fotos – Rede Globo

Vocabulary

1 leisure – lazer

2 to come into play – aqui = entrar em ação / em cena

3 comic strips – história em quadrinhos

4 to appeal – atrair / conquistar

5 alike – da mesma forma

6 somewhat naive – um tanto ingênuo

7 without resorting to malice

 – sem recorrer à malícia

8 to stand up –  destacar-se

9 bodyguards –  guarda-costas

10  painting – pintura

11 to be picked on - aqui = ser menosprezado / sofrer preconceito

12 fat - gordo

5/10 Children of Israel, Palestine FREE PALESTINE

Hello everyone, how have you been? Back home and I just say to you, that I support for Palestine cause, but definitely support for Freedom, peace and love, just say to you, that world needs peace, but it combines with justice, human rights, then you'll have peace around the world. 
Source: goooodmorningfriends

Piadas em inglês: Two Italian men get on the bus…

Source: For more info visit www.teclasap.com.br or just click on the title of the joke

A bus stops and two Italian men get on. They sit down and engage in an animated conversation. The lady sitting next to them ignores them at first, but her attention is galvanized when she hears one of them say the following: “Emma come first. Den I come. Den two asses come together. I come once-a-more. Two asses, they come together again. I come again and pee twice. Then I come one lasta time.”

“You foul-mouthed sex obsessed swine,” retorted the lady indignantly. “In this country we don’t speak aloud in public places about our sex lives…”

“Hey, coola down lady,” said the man. “Who talkin’ abouta sex? I’m a justa tellin’ my frienda how to spell “Mississippi’.”

Cf. O que significa “1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi…”?Cf. Mais Piadas em Inglês

Words and Their Stories: Hobson’s Choice

Words and Their Stories: Hobson’s Choice

   

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Making choices is necessary, but not always easy. Many of our expressions tell about this difficulty.

One of these expressions is Hobson’s choice.  It often is used to describe a difficult choice. But that is not what it really means. Its real meaning is to have no choice at all.

The Hobson in the expression was Thomas Hobson. Mister Hobson owned a stable of horses in Cambridge, England.

Mister Hobson often rented horses to the students at Cambridge University. But, he did not really trust them to take good care of the horses. So, he had a rule that prevented the students from riding his best horses. They could take the horse that was nearest the stable door. Or, they could not take any horse at all.

Thus, a Hobson’s choice was really no choice.

Another expression for having no real choice is between a rock and a hard place. It is often used to describe a difficult situation with few choices, none of them good.

For example, your boss may ask you to work late. But you have plans to go to a movie with your friends.  If you refuse to work, your boss gets angry. But if you do not go to the movies with your friends, they may get angry. So what do you do? You are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Another expression, between the devil and the deep blue sea, also gives you a choice between two equally dangerous things.

Its meaning seems clear. You can choose the devil and his burning fires of hell.  Or, you can choose to drown in the sea. Some word experts say the expression comes from the days of wooden ships.

The devil is a word for a seam between two pieces of wood along the water-line of a ship. If the seam or crack between the two pieces of wood begins to leak, then a sailor must fix it. The sailor ordered to make the repairs was in a dangerous situation. He was hanging over the side of the ship, working between the devil and the deep blue sea.

There is still another expression that describes a situation with only bad choices, being on the horns of a dilemma.

The dictionary says a dilemma is a situation in which you must make a decision about two equally balanced choices. When your dilemma has horns, a choice becomes impossible.  When you are on the horns of a dilemma, no matter which horn you choose, something bad will happen.

(MUSIC)

This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Christiano. I’m Christopher Cruise.

Galway and The Claddagh Ring

The Ring of Love and Friendship

Source: Speak Up

Language Level: Advanced

Standard: British Accent

The Ring of Love and Friendship

The Irish word “Claddagh” means “Stony shore.” In century past the “Claddagh” was a famous fishing village, just across the river Corrib from Galway city. Its elected leader, the “King of Claddagh,” ruled the fishing fleet in Galway Bay and settled disputes.

Today visitors still go to Claddagh to see its swans, and to enjoy a good view of Galway city, but the village’s old mud-wall cottages have been replaced by modern housing.

The “King of Claddagh” is now an honorary title.  The current King of Claddagh is Michael Linsky, who naturally wore his Claddagh Ring when we met him in the museum room of Thomas Dillon’s, the longest-established Claddagh jewellers. As Michael explained, the ring consists of a heart held by two hands with a crown on top.

Michael Linsky

Standard Irish accent.

The heart is for love of course, the crown is for loyalty, and the hands are for friendship. Now, love, as you know, will wane, as time goes on, loyalty will always be under pressure, but friendship never dies, it’s the one thing that will linger on.

THE STUFF OF LEGEND

There are many legends connected with the Claddagh Ring. One says that in the 17^th century a young man from Galway, Richard Joyce, was kidnapped by pirates and sold to a Moorish master goldsmith, who taught him the craft. When Joyce returned to Galway, he presented his faithful lover with a gold ring with the now famous design.

The story of Michael Linsky’s family is also very romantic. When Michael’s mother, a Claddagh woman, left for Boston in 1912, she was booked on the Titanic. Luckily, The Titanic was full, and she went to Boston on a different ship. Michael’s father joined the British Army and fought in the First World War and his mother and father wrote to each other for nine years. Later, in the “Hungry Thirties, when Michael grew up, most Claddagh women had a Claddagh ring, as well as their plain gold wedding hand. Life was difficult and many people pawned their rings in order to pay for a ship passage for America. Today the ring remains popular as a symbol of love and friendship. It’s worn by people everywhere and it is said that some 200 Claddagh Rings were found in the rubble of the World Trade Center. In spite of that sad statistic, the Claddagh ring is generally seen as a source of happiness:

Michael Linsky:

Where it originated is a bit of a mystery, but it’s one of the most popular rigns in the world. I mean, any country I’ve been…and I’ve been into quite a few, off and on, and I often met somebody with a Claddagh Ring, and suddenly we’d have a big conservation: “Oh, where are you from?” “Ah, yeah?” So… we’d be starting to talk, and it was the ring that introduced us in its own pirate, silent way.

The Magic Ring

The Claddagh Ring represents marriage, engagement or friendship. It consists of a crown over a heart, which is held by two hands. The crown symbolizes loyalty, the heart is for love and the two hands are for friendship. If the ring is worn on the left-hand ring finger, facing away from the body, then the wearer is engaged: if the ring is worn on the same finger (but the wearer is married. On the right hand, the ring facing outwards means “free,” while, if the ring faces inwards, it means “in love.”

Where to Buy a Claddagh Ring

There are many jewellers in Galway selling Claddagh Rings, but the longest-established (1750) is Dillon’s, now at n° 1, Quay Street, the main shopping street. A room at the back tells the history of the ring and the Claddagh area in photos and memorabilia. It also shows the ring through the ages (including the smallest Cladddagh Ring in the World). Check the website www.claddaghring.ie for a list of their famous client Winston Churchill and Queen Victoria, Grace Kelly and John Wayen. By the way, Jim Morrison of the Doors and his girlfriend exchanged Claddagh Rings during their “Pagan wedding.” 

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I'll be away...Travelling

                     Hunting scene Northeast Tradition, Furna do Messias.

Everyday before I go to bed I don't forget to thank you for your support and how much is important your audience, comment, suggestion and your viewpoint. I'm so sorry to say that I'll be away for 5 days off-line, no internet and Social Networking websites, So sad to me 'cause I love blogging, but so happy, because on the other hand me, and a stuff of the Secretary of Tourism of my town (Carnaúba dos Dantas) we're travelling tomorrow towards the Capital in order to take part on the Brazil National Tourism Mart in Natal, capital of the Rio Grande do Norte State. The event runs on 12th until 15th and this is the opportunity to take part there. However we were not taking part on the Top Table, just the Brazil Operator and over 38 countries will be in Natal. As you can see, I don't forget to communicate for you, the main reason of English Tips' blog, without you it doesn't make sense. Thank you for your help in advance and continue promoting my blog for friends. I'll update on the auto-publishing, see you the next Sunday. 

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