Embrace Life - always wear your seat belt

Sincere, by Justin Ho

Justin Ho is at college in the USA (School of Visual Arts) studying to become a film director. He has written about himself:

I love making films. ever since I was five I had an acute interest in film. Film, being a form of entertainment and media has been an intricate part of my life. I have taped many school events, edited and taped weddings, made hundreds of short narratives, and feature length films. Everywhere I go I look not to see, but to embrace. I see a vision not to compute, but to examine, for life can be just as cinematic as film.

Remember his name, because he will be a famous film director sooner or later (rather sooner than later!). Here we are showing you a scene he had to direct for his production class (pay attention to the beautiful music):

Newsy: Stealing to Survive After Chile Earthquake

"Many people simply take what they need, looting has spread from store to store in Concepcion, Chile's second largest city. So ten-thousand Chilean soldiers patrol with police to keep order and to help rescue the helpless." 

In the aftermath of Chile's devastating earthquake, it's not only the casualties that are on the rise, it's the looting too. Thousands have taken to the streets grabbing anything they can get their hands on. The issue has prompted mandatory curfews across several cities.

We're looking at reactions from, CNN, NPR, ITN, and Fox News.

Much of the looting comes as a backlash for the lack of aid being offered. Many say they loot because they need to survive, because the government has not properly handled the situation. A woman on ITN pleads with authorities to send assistance: "We need more food, more food and water. We call on the authorities to make their presence known in this place. To not leave us so alone, because really yesterday the children we're crying because they were hungry. They were tearing their hair out."

But not everything is being taken for survival. Reports say that looting has gone beyond the desire for just food and water. A reporter for Fox News tells how desire has turned to greed: "Basically every single market place was ransacked. And a lot of times you have a natural disaster, people become sort of desperate, they do loot out of necessity. It was very obvious and in fact was being condemned by many Chileans, the unbridaled stealing of consumer goods like plasma TV's and everything of value from some of these stores."

In an effort to restore order, the government has deployed military troops throughout several cities in Chile. 

A reporter for NPR describes the military presence in the city of Concepcion: "You notice immediately that the streets have been taken over by the authorities, by the military, Marines and Army soldiers. And that's because of heavy looting over the last day, so that demonstrates that aid has not come in, at least not in a significant quantity, because people had to storm the stores here in Concepcion."

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, condemned the looting, saying it will not be tolerated. The warning has had little effect, as mobs continue to loot from stores. Some looters told CNN's Soledad O'brein they feel justified.: "The looters are very aggressive, and I asked, I said, why are you stealing this, why are you taking this? They said, you know because it's there, we can, it's available, we're angry, no one's here helping us. A whole myriad of reasons. No one seems that desperate 48 plus hours after the earthquake. It seems more of an anger about a lack of resources here and a lack of feeling like people are focused on whats happening here."

Writer: Maurice Scarborough

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Newsy: And the Oscar goes to...

Not since 1943 has the Motion Picture Academy nominated 10 movies for Best Picture. That year the creators of Casablanca walked away with the coveted golden bald statue. But who will come out on top this year?

Commentators coined this year’s Oscars the “battle of the exes”. That's because the fight for the biggest awards boiling down to two people: a divorced couple. James Cameron’s "Avatar" and Kathryn Bigelow’s "The Hurt Locker" both received nine nominations, including the prestigious Best Director and Best Picture.

On ABC News, Bigelow says the faceoff between the divorcees seems like something out of a movie: “We’re very good friends and I couldn’t be happier for him. And I think he’s happy for me as well. It’s just extremely ironic. I mean he makes his first film in 12 years, I make my first in 7 years. You just couldn’t have scripted it. The odds are pretty astronomical.”

Cameron told The Hot Button that he’s seen The Hurt Locker “several times” and has nothing but praise for Bigelow’s ability to cut through clutter: “I’m very proud of Kathryn. I encouraged her to make the film... She knows when something is false and that’s why those people are so real. And it makes that situation such a white knuckler; it’s almost hard to watch in a way, but in a good way."

According to ABC News, both movies’ appeal lies in their ability to transport audiences somewhere new: “It’s a tremendous performance. It takes you to a place you’ve never been before, just like Avatar does. And I think Avatar plays almost like--- it’s a perfect capper movie to a decade in which we love technology."

Richard Roeper & The Movies says despite the 10 nominations for the Best Picture category, "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" are the only real contenders: 

“Now usually I think that Best Director and Best Picture should go hand in hand, but this year you could make the argument that James Cameron should win for Best Director while Kathryn Bigelow’s "The Hurt Locker" is really the Best Picture. Cameron literally had to wait for more than a decade for the technology to catch up with his vision for "Avatar". The movie is a triumph of camera work and cutting edge special effects and amazing visuals, but the story? Not so much. This is a very very tight race and it really could go either way.”

So will Cameron’s blue people win him a bald man? Or will Bigelow's bomb detonator sweep the ceremonies?

Writer: Ann Langworthy

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Bolsas de inmersión lingüística 2010

A Consellería de Educación e Ordenación Universitaria convoca 3.077 prazas para realizar actividades de inmersión lingüística no ano 2010.

Poderá solicitar estas axudas o alumnado de centros sostidos con fondos públicos da Comunidade Autónoma de Galicia dos cursos que aparecen nesta táboa e que non fora beneficiario desta axuda no verán de 2008 ou no verán de 2009.

Os nenos e nenas de 6º de primaria seleccionados participarían nun campamento de inglés en Galicia cunha duración de dúas semanas. Os solicitantes teñen que ter superadas todas as materias no curso 2008-2009 e unha nota mínima de 6 en inglés.
Acceso á Orde de convocatoria (DOG do 11 de febreiro de 2010)
Acceso ao cartel informativo
Solicitar a beca
Ver estado da solicitude
Axuda

Curso	N prazas	Distribución de prazas e duración		Réxime aloxamento	Custo total  ata	Aportación familia
2º BACH	200	150	Inglés en Canadá -tres semanas-	Familia	2.250 €	310 €
		50	Francés en Canadá -tres semanas-	Familia	2.250 €	310 €
1º  BACH.	220	150	Inglés en Canadá -tres semanas-	Familia	2.250 €	310 €
		50	Francés en Canadá -tres semanas-	Familia	2.250 €	310 €
		20	Integración en centros Canadá (inglés) 4 semanas	Familia	2.850 €	350 €
4º ESO	582	350	Inglés Reino Unido -tres semanas-	Familia	1.890 €	175 €
		20	Integración en centros de Irlanda 3 semanas	Familia	1.850 €	175 €
		100	Inglés Irlanda -tres semanas-	Familia	1.800 €	175 €
		100	Francés Francia -tres semanas-	Residencia	1.860 €	175 €
		12	Alemán en Alemaña -tres semanas-	Familia	1.850 €	175 €
3º ESO	550	350	Inglés Reino Unido -tres semanas-	Familia	1.890 €	175 €
		100	Inglés Irlanda -tres semanas-	Familia	1.800 €	175 €
		100	Francés Francia -tres semanas-	Residencia	1.860 €	175 €
2º ESO	300	200	"Pueblo Inglés" -unha semana- (en territorio español)	Residencia	1.400 €	150 €
		100	Francés Francia -dúas semanas-	Residencia	1.400 €	150 €
1º ESO	395	395	Inglés outras Comunidades Autónomas -dúas semanas-	Residencia ou Campamento	1.000 €	120 €
6º E.P.	830	830	Inglés na Comunidade Autónoma de Galicia -dúas semanas-	Residencia ou Campamento	500 €	60 €

CONSULTAS

Enderezo electrónico: inmersionestranxeiro@edu.xunta.es

Atención telefónica: 981 95 75 37 -  981 95 72 96 - 981 54 65 03

Consulta periodicamente a información en http://www.edu.xunta.es/axudasle

Newsy: 8.8-Magnitude Earthquake Rocks Chile

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the South American nation of Chile, sparking official warnings that a tsunami could affect the entire Pacific region. 

In what the country's president immediately declared "a state of catastrophe", the earthquake collapsed bridges, smashed cars, and cut power and water lines and the death toll is quickly rising.

"Houses damaged, windows shattered, a lot of things thrown around in some of those residential areas." (MSNBC)

"... caused blackouts in part of the capitol Santiago. Buildings have been reduced to rubble and phone lines have been brought down." (Russia Today).

"Back on mainland Chile the airport in Santiago is out of action and closed to air traffic. On the streets, dazed residents huddled together amid the rubble of fallen buildings." (ITN)

A Times of India report focuses on the reach of the quake, noting, "Strong tremors were felt across the continent – from Argentina to Ecuador... As the shockwaves travelled from Chile across the continent, the whole South America was woken up by strong tremors."

Now officials warn a tsunami threatens to rock the entire Pacific--that's about one-quarter of the globe.

And with the earthquake striking as Haiti still struggles to re-build, many in the media are comparing the two earthquake-ravaged nations.

"This is a very different country. This is a much more industrialized country. And as we've just been reporting, had the largest earthquake ever reported. I believe it was 9.5 magnitude. In that case that is the biggest earthquake the world has ever seen. ... But because this is a more industrialized nation, they do have better building standards." (Al Jazeera English)

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers uses Haiti's quake to put Chile's numbers in perspective: "When you go from 7.0 to 8.0 that is literally 32 times stronger of an earthquake, not just one time stronger. That's 32 times stronger. So let's now go to 9.0. That would be anoter 32. So that's not 64. That's 32 times 32. That would be 1,000 times stronger than the Haitian earthquake if we go to 9.0. But we're not at 9.0. We're 8.8. But close enough."

For Newsy.com, I'm Christina Hartman. Multiple Sources. The Real Story.

No copyright infringement inteded. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Song of the week: Take on me, by a-ha

"Take on Me" is a song by Norwegian pop band a-ha. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alan Tarneyfor the group's first studio album Hunting High and Low, released in 1985. The song combines synthpop with a varied instrumentation, which includes acoustic guitars, keyboards, drums and synthesizers.

The original "Take on Me" was recorded in 1984, and took three releases to chart in the United Kingdom, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in November 1985. In the United States the song reached the top position of the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1985, due in no small part to the wide exposure of its memorable and cutting-edge music video on MTV, directed bySteve Barron. The video features the band in a pencil-sketch animation/live-action combination called rotoscoping in which individual frames of live video are drawn over or colored. It became one of the most instantly recognizable and most enduringly popular music videos in the U.S., where it was nominated for eight awards at the third annual MTV Video Awards in 1986, winning six, including Best New Artist in a Video, Best Concept Video, Best Direction, Best Special Effects, and Viewer's Choice. "Take on Me" was also nominated for Best Video of the Year at the 1986 American Music Awards. Their six MTV Award wins for that video gave them twice as many wins as Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and more than any artist in the three years of the awards combined.

And now enjoy a beautiful, gentle cover by Anni B. Sweet:

Have you ever wished songs actually sang about what was happening in the music video? Try a "literal video version" like this one: it is a faithful description of what is actually happening in the video:

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.

Comic Relief: Red Nose Day

Comic Relief is a British charity organisation which was founded in the United Kingdom in 1985 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis in response to famine in Ethiopia. The highlight of Comic Relief's appeal is an annual telethon held in March, alternating asRed Nose Day and Sport Relief day. Comic Relief is one of the two high profile telethon events held in Britain, the other beingChildren in Need held annually in November.

Comic Relief was launched live on Noel Edmonds's Late, Late Breakfast Show on BBC1, on Christmas Day 1985 from a refugee camp in Sudan. The idea for Comic Relief came from the noted charity worker Jane Tewson, who established it as the operating name of Charity Projects, a registered charity in England and Scotland.

Comic Relief was inspired by the success of the first four Secret Policeman's Ball comedy benefit shows for Amnesty International (1976-1981). Initially funds were raised from live events, and the best known is a comedy revue at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London which was finally broadcast on television on 25 April 1986.

One of the fundamental principles behind working at Comic Relief is the "Golden Pound Principle" where every single donated pound (£) is spent on charitable projects. Alloperating costs, such as staff salaries, are covered by corporate sponsors, or interest which is earned while money raised is waiting to be spent on charitable projects.

Currently, its two main supporters are the public service broadcaster - the BBC, and the supermarket - Sainsbury's. The BBC is responsible for the live television extravaganza on Red Nose Day, and Sainsbury's sells merchandise on behalf of the charity.

Since the charity was started in the 1980s, Comic Relief has raised over £600 million.

Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief raises money. It is held in the spring every other year, and is often treated as a semi-holiday, with, for example,schools across the UK having non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One, starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place. As the name suggests, the day involves the wearing of plastic/foam red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from Sainsbury's and Oxfam shops.

Learn more at http://www.rednoseday.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Comic_Relief&oldid=334523899

Sound of the week /a:/

/a:/ is a long, back, open vowel. This sound should mean no problem to you as it is almost identical to the way we pronounce the letter 'a' in Spanish when we say 'avión'.

The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark vowels because they are perceived as sounding darker than the front vowels.

The defining characteristic of an open vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue.

Examples of /a:/ are:

father /fa:ðә/

start /sta:t/

hard /ha:d/

You can also download the video, download the poster with examples, download radio programmes or take a few quizzes on pronunciation.

No copyright infringement intended. For educational, non-commercial purposes only.