Hallowe'en... but not only!

GOOGLE HALLOWEEN DOODLE 2011 - A fun time-lapse video of the Google doodle team & friends carving giant pumpkins in the Halloween spirit. Shot on location at Google's Headquarters

For many, Oct 31st only means Hallowe'en but this has become a very important date for many and different reasons.
Surely you are all aware through the media that the United Nations Population Fund has designated today - 31st Oct 2011 - the Day of Seven Billion, a milestone to mark the planet's population growth based on data interpolated from 5-year-period estimates. However, did you also know that...

Source: moneybox clipart

- since 1924 this day has also been celebrated as World Savings Day ? Never in recent times has this thought become so relevant...at least a day devoted to the promotion of savings all over the World!!! But cheer up anyway if you're Portuguese and desperate with so many cuts: check an online platform  for donations and reuse of what has become useless to their owners presented today at Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation: dou.pt !
- on this day in 1892, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Connan Doyle was published? That's right: the first collection of the beloved British detective whose adventures the author had been publishing loose in magazines since 1887 ;)
- some centuries ago, back in 1517, Martin Luther posted the famous 95 theses? According to traditional accounts, this priest and scholar first nailed a piece of paper onto a church door containing the 95 revolutionary theses that marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Source: Halloween clipart

As you can see, these are only some of the most important events on this day throughout history but relegated to the background (not to say to a state of oblivion) because of Hallowe'en euphoria.
As I've already posted here, here and here about Halloween for now check this: a gallery of gorgeous jack-o’-lanterns that honor literary greats like Edgar Alan Poe, William Shakespeare, and the Brothers Grimm!!!
It's getting late for those willing to face the cold and darkness for a trick or treat; as for myself, I will stay home with the family having a nice dinner. What about you?
Whatever the case...  HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!

The best of... Johnny English Reborn

Back from the cinema just a while ago after watching Johnny English Reborn and to tell you the truth what I most appreciated was to meet former adult learners of mine. It was so good to see them again! It was kind of going back to the glorious old days when they were still attending evening classes, engaged in learning, when school was still bustling with life... now, though our adult learners are as motivated as the former were, they are fewer and with irregular attendance, and the number of classes and learners attending each class do make difference. Let's hope that in spite of so many budget cuts, the government and our Department of Education approve more of these tailor-made courses and learning programmes to allow more adults to return to school at least to complete general education requirements. This second chance would surely be welcomed by both former dropouts, by those who need professional development and, last but not least, by us teachers!

Google images

Anyway, Johnny English Reborn is an action comedy film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre. As I said here before, it is the sequel to Johnny English (2003) also starring Rowan Atkinson as the main character.

Google images

English attempts to stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate the Chinese Premier and cause global chaos. After a disastrous mission in Mozambique, he has been in Tibet / Asia but when his agency superiors learn of this assassination attempt, they must hunt down Johnny English, their highly unorthodox agent. To prove he had been framed and to get redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout KGB, CIA and even his MI-7. Not my fave genre but ok for a laugh and relaxation :)
We all had a nice time together before and during the flick. We chatted and remembered the good old times at school before going in, laughed together during the film and afterwards - with some sadness - we said goodbye... just hope not for too long :)))

Johnny English Reborn

Johnny English theatrical poster

Well, here we go again to the movies, this time for Johnny English Reborn, a sequel to the 2003 Johnny English.
2011 has been a hard year but 2012 won't be better...By now we are all in need of a good laugh to lighten our burdens and inspire new hopes. Let's meet old acquaintances and friends and have fun: humor and laughter are proven to strengthen our immune system, boost our energy, diminish pain, and protect us from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use - even though we have to pay the tickets ;) it's surely worthwhile.

Have a look at the trailer:

Reality / Appearance - Go Beyond The Cover

http://www.gobeyondthecover.com/

Just a few days ago, I prepared a PPt and worksheets on tattoos in which I introduced Rick Genest (also known as Zombie Boy) to my students.

http://www.gobeyondthecover.com/

Besides being part of our secondary curriculum in the topic "Young people in the global era" / "Young people and Globalization", no doubt tattoos and piercings are always a motivating and engaging topic among teens and though they had never heard of Rick Genest, the truth is that they had all viewed (like it or not) Lady Gaga's Born This Way already and, yes, that tattooed guy is Rick Genest. So, imagine, their response was fantastic. This video clip catapulted not only Rick's career but my students' commitment as well: they did some research work on his life and career, presented it in class and today, by chance, I found the amazing ad below with an unrecognisable Zombie Boy promoting Dermablend's concealer and makeup remover. Here you have some facts about the shoot, before and after, reality and appearance, using Dermablend products for this transformation. But, have a look at the promotional advert called "Go Beyond The Cover", now surely with a whole new meaning...

Stuff like this always attracts our learners' attention and can also be used when dealing with the topic "Young People and Consumerism", don't you agree?

F-word

What's the most obscene F-word you know????
No, no, no... it's not the one you're thinking about. Try Famine instead: the real obscenity is letting millions die, particularly children, in the Horn of Africa because of Hunger.
Why this now? Well, October 16th is the annual World Food Day sponsored by the United Nations and why not stop and think about those who have absolutely nothing to eat? Last year, to mark this date, I asked you here to play a game and thus donate rice for each correct answer through the World Food Programme; now the challenge is to watch the short clip and then sign the petition addressed to the world leaders who are going to meet next November. Hope can never die and again let's believe together we can and must stop this obscenity from happening again and again.



To have a clearer idea of how devastating Famine is in Africa, have a look at the map that follows:

If interested in having a wider view on the subject, please take some time and check these sites:

http://www.onlineschools.org/blog/world-hunger/
(with a great infographic)
http://www.starvedforattention.org/
(sponsored by Doctors without Borders and also in Portuguese :))
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Food_Day
http://www.fao.org/getinvolved/en/
http://www.fao.org/
http://www.freerice.com/#/english-vocabulary/1479 (please keep on playing the game and feeding hungry children worldwide)
http://www.wfp.org/
For teachers, there is always something we can use to call our learners' attention for the situation. Here you find classroom activities, materials developed by other educators to be tried out in classrooms around the world; Hunger 101 with loads of materials and maps and a list of other related link.
Before you go...have you signed the petition yet? Take action and click here to do it now!
Thank you all.

Jane Eyre

Source: wikipedia.com

Three sisters who became major figures of English Literature.

The three Brontë sisters, in a 1834 painting by their brother Patrick Branwell. From left to right: Anne, Emily and Charlotte. Between Emily and Charlotte used to be Patrick but, after a fight with his father, he painted himself out of this family portrait, leaving only a blurring pillar where he used to be.

Charlotte Bronte
Source: wikipedia.com

The first things that come to my mind when reading or watching something connected to Jane Eyre are the good old days at the university! My goodness... about twenty years ago, myself and a bunch of good old friends (remember, girls?) reading this timeless classic (and Villette, and Wuthering Heights...) ;  How I wish those days were back - we had much more time to read, to meet, to have fun and had much more relaxed lives than today.....
Well, on this day (Oct 6) in 1847 and under the pen name Currer Bell, Charlotte Bronte published this classic story of an orphaned girl at an institution who grows up to become a governess. Now after so many editions and so many films and series, the last adaptation debuted last March and it is not bad. I had a nice time watching it, recalling the story, the characters and even the places Charlotte Bronte so vividly described.
Have a look at the trailer:

The movie opens with a grown-up Jane (played by Mia Wasikowska) fleeing across moors under very bad weather. Later, in flashbacks, we become aware of an orphaned Jane, mistreated by her cruel aunt, then sent to Lowood boarding school where she faces further harsh treatment but receives an education and then as a teenager seeking a position as a governess. She is employed at Thornfield by Mr Rochester (Michael Fassbender) where she is treated with kindness and respect by Mrs Fairfax, the housekeeper (Academy award winner, Judi Dench). Though absent most of the time, readers / viewers learn a lot about Mr Rochester through what others convey about him and he and Jane end up falling in love. But that's not the end of it, much less a happy ending. When about to get married, Rochester's terrible secret is revealed, Jane runs away to become a school teacher but ends up coming back to him to find Thornfield in ruins and a blind Rochester...
Now that I've told you the story, you also remember it, right? It's a great book and a pleasant film, believe me! Here you can download the book to read it - so no more excuses to call off (re)reading it!!!
You might be asking yourself now how we can apply this for classes: well, not necessarily (for me it was much more a remembrance) but definitely landscape description at http://focusfeatures.com/slideshow/the_real_places_of_jane_eyre_s_world?film=jane_eyre
where you find the real places that inspired Charlotte Bronte; clothing description and female condition, submission, controlled emotions, the meaning of being "poor, obscure, plain and little" in the 19th century, social classes... more ideas?
Below are some more links that might also interest you:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jane-eyre-is-published
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1229822/
http://www.bronte.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=112&Itemid=122
Enjoy :)

HAPPY WORLD TEACHERS' DAY

Teacher

Loud shouter
Deep thinker
Rain hater
Coffee drinker

Spell checker
Sum ticker
Line giver
Nit picker

Ready listener
Trouble carer
Hometime lover
Knowledge sharer

Paul Cookson

International Older Persons Day

Youth, Day, Old Age and Night

Youth, large, lusty, loving-youth full of grace, force, fascination,
Do you know that Old Age may come after you with equal grace,
force, fascination?

Day full-blown and splendid-day of the immense sun, action,
ambition, laughter,
The Night follows close with millions of suns, and sleep and
restoring darkness.

 Walt Whitman