"BROADCAST YOURSELF": Cover songs & YouTube

If there’s one thing YouTube has always been good for, it is as a platform for any ordinary person to express himself or herself. That is the very basis of its “broadcast yourself” roots.

If you have the time - and patience! - to browse thousands of music videos on YouTube, you will quickly find out that most of them are actually cover songs!  Do you know what a cover song is?
A cover version (or simply "cover") is a song which is re-recorded by a singer or band, after another artist has released a recording of it. Sometimes the versions are similar, but sometimes they are very different. Many songs become more popular as cover versions than in their original recordings. (wikipedia.org)

Of course, there are also issues regarding copyright violations. If you are planning on taping a cover of your favourite song and uploading it on YouTube, perhaps you should read some information on this issue before... Otherwsie you could get into trouble! Here are the links to two articles that discuss this problem and give you some advice:
           "Recording, Releasing, and Performing Cover Songs" by Cameron Mizell
           "Music, Copyright, and YouTube" by  Suzanne Lainson
A great deal of musicians make videos of themselves performing cover songs at home and upload them to sites like YouTube. This has become a great way to capture people’s attention with the covered songs as a gateway to their original music. Usually, videos of cover songs get more views than videos of original music.
A good example of this is the band Karmin, a duo of singers from Boston, USA. Have you ever listened to their songs? Give them a try, I'm sure you'll love them!

What the Finns need to know about Portugal [video]

The following video is a compilation of great accomplishments of the Portuguese people. It also reveals how Portugal has been generous towards other countries in the world.
Portugal has been greatly affected by the economic crisis and international financial markets are "punishing" our national economy. 
Finland's support is necessary for the EU's bailout but a large number of Finns are against it. 
This video was presented yesterday, in Estoril, at the end of the ESTORIL CONFERENCES - Global Challenges, Local Answers. Its aim is to make the Finnish people aware of the Portuguese history and generosity.

What do you think of this?

Imagine waking up with a British Accent...

An American woman woke up with a British accent. Is this really possible?

Apparently, yes, it is possible. Have you ever heard of the Foreign Language Syndrome? 

Watch the report about Karen Butler, who blames a sedative used during dental surgery, for changing her voice into a British accent. You can read the transcript below.

If only my students could wake up with a British accent! :-)

    Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

TRANSCRIPT:

You're watching multisource health news analysis from News

Would you ever believe that an American woman from Portland, Oregon who talks like this:

“Hi this is Karen, sorry I can’t come to the phone at the moment.” (Video: KATU)

Could leave a dentist appointment sounding like this?

 “Oh where are you from, where did you get that accent? Well I got it from my dentist in Toledo!” (Video: WEWS)

Karen Butler suffers from an extremely rare disorder, Foreign Accent Syndrome. Most sufferers contract the syndrome after a stroke or brain trauma.

But Butler blames the anesthetic, Halcion, for her new voice after receiving oral surgery. Doctors are puzzled about her case because the syndrome has never been linked to a sedative. (Video: MSNBC)

KATU speaks with a stroke doctor about the logistics:

Reporter: “Why accent instead of just saying it’s a speech impediment or change? It seems interesting that it becomes an accent.”

Doctor: “As you’ve already pointed out it’s exceedingly rare. Now stroke very commonly affects language and most typically someone who has a stroke has trouble speaking... This is a very small part of the brain that affects language, that affects the articulation and intonation of speech.”

The condition is so rare only 100 cases have been reported worldwide since the 1900s. While American media celebrates Butler’s oddity, NBC reveals the cultural backlash in other countries with similar cases:

 “Hello, my name is Kate...”

“When her voice changed, life changed. She lost her job and became depressed.”

“You lose your identity, because you don’t know who you are anymore. You don’t fit in anywhere.”

“Sarah Callwell knows just how she feels. Her accent changed earlier this year. Now some people think she sounds Chinese.”

“At first I felt very alone, I felt like I did not belong in this country anymore.”

The original accent can return to sufferers of the syndrome, but Butler tells the Oregonian she feels more outgoing thanks to the change:

 “It wasn’t until this happened to me and everywhere you go people are so curious to know about who you are and what you are, where you’ve been, what you’ve done... It has just really changed a great deal of my willingness.”

Transcript by Newsy.com (http://www.newsy.com/videos/american-woman-wakes-up-with-british-accent/)

THE ROYAL WEDDING

Yes, Prince William and Kate Middleton tied the knot yesterday. Billions of people watched the wedding ceremony all over the globe. 
Here are some photos of what happened yesterday.

Have you also been affected by the Royal Wedding Mania?

HAPPY EASTER!

glitter-graphics.com

How sweet has been your Easter so far? 

Have you eaten loads of chocolate eggs or chocolate bunnies? 


What about almonds? 


Are you a fan of chocolate covered almonds or the colourful sugar-coated ones? 




Easter by the Numbers [infographic]
According to this infographic, in the United States, Americans eat a lot of candy at Easter. Delicious chocolate eggs, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans and more. It doesn’t take a healthcare degree to figure out what all that candy means for our bodies. If you want to keep the extra pounds off, stay away from the basket! 

http://degreesearch.org/blog/2011/04/easter-by-the-numbers-infographic/

"VIVA A ESCOLA" - Snacks'R'Us and Spelling Bee Contest - 7 APRIL 2011

Next Thursday, 7th April, our school will be holding the 2011 edition of the "VIVA A ESCOLA" event.

The English Department is organising two events: Snacks'R'Us and the 2nd edition of the Spelling Bee Contest.


All students are invited to visit room 17. 


Come and visit the exhibit and have a snack for 50 cents (beverage included). There will be food from different English-speaking countries: the UK and the USA, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and even Jamaica!

Support your classmates in the finals of the Spelling Bee Contest! There are prizes!

Are you ready for the Spelling Bee Contest?


Do you want to practise your spelling skills?


Then check out this great website: Spelling Bee The Game


Or click on the video below and follow this YouTube Interactive Spelling Bee. It's fun!

It's April Fools' Day!

Have you been fooled today? Ooops! Today is April Fools' Day! 

Every year, April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on the April 1. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day where many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness.
The day is marked by the commission of good humoured or funny jokes, hoaxes, and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, teachers, neighbors, work associates, etc. 

The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, written in 1392. Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references. (adapted from Wikipedia.org)

Interested in playing a joke on someone? Watch this video in order to learn how to prank a friend's food!

For more jokes and pranks, you can always check out the The Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time!

FIXED - An intriguing story set in a hospital

While browsing Vimeo website the other day, I came across a very intriguing story about a patient who goes to the hospital and undergoes a lot of exams in order to find a cure to his aching leg. I believe you will all enjoy it!


"Fixed" is a short animation film by the young director Jeffrey Thompson. 

"Fixed" 2010 from Jeffrey Thompson on Vimeo.

What do you think of the doctors' solution to this patient's problem?

You can find more interesting videos and music videos at Vimeo website.

"Sometimes The Stars" by The Audreys, an Aussie band

"Sometimes the Stars" is a beautiful song from the Australian band The Audreys, taken from their 2010 album of the same name. 
The accompanying short animated film, produced by Luke Jurevicius and directed by Ari Gibson & Jason Pamment, is about a lost girl's journey through a surreal landscape, and her yearning to make a connection in this distant yet strangely familiar world. 

Sometimes the Stars from The Audreys on Vimeo.

SOMETIMES THE STARS by THE AUDREYS

Here I am confessing, you're lost to me now
I'm on a train telling strangers, about you
How you're still looking fine
How you ease my lonely mind
Flong, summers and wine
Yeah, you saved me

But sometimes the stars seem closer than they should
Like the more I knew, the less I understood
And the further that you got from me, the more I felt like I could see
The more I wondered if I should trust the stars
'Cus sometimes the stars..

Here I am obsessing, that I lost you somehow
On a train full of strangers, and you
Every star look the same
All of those faces without names
They all drifted away
Is that when you left me?

'Cus sometimes the stars seem closer than they should
Like the more I knew, the less I understood
And the further that you got from me, the more I felt like I could see
The more I wondered if I should trust the stars
'Cus sometimes the stars

'Cus sometimes the stars
'Cus sometimes the stars
'Cus sometimes the stars
'Cus sometimes the stars...

You can find more interesting videos and music videos at Vimeo website.

St. Patrick's Day: May the luck of the Irish be yours today!

  Happy Saint Patrick's Day!  
Saint Patrick's Day is the feast day of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland and a day of celebration for Irish people and all things that are Irish. 
It is celebrated on March 17 all over Ireland and everywhere in the world where Irish people or their descendants live. 
New York City has one of the biggest parades. It is a very Irish festival and it involves a lot of feasting and celebrations, which includes traditional Irish music, drinking Guinness and eating bacon and cabbage. Another tradition is one has to wear green clothing or they will be pinched. 
Green is the color for Saint Patrick's day as it is the national color of Ireland and people will wear green on that day or have some type of shamrock on their clothing.
Find out more about Saint Patrick's Day by watching the video below:

Would you like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day like a true Irishman? 

Then watch the following video and test your knowledge by answering the quiz.

What do you really know about Ireland? From Ireland's national symbol to its average beer consumption, get the facts on the Emerald Isle.

Try this fantastic online quiz about Saint Patrick's Day:

St Patrick´s Day, by frenchfrog
Find this and other holidays exercises in English Exercises .org

7 Billion: Are You Typical?

Do you remember our post about the fact that the worldwide population is expected to exceed seven billion in 2011? If you haven't read about it yet, check it here: 7billion.


National Geographic Magazine is continuing a yearlong series examining the specific challenges and solutions we face as the worldwide population reaches 7 billion people in 2011. In the March issue, the magazine published a report on humans' massive impact on the planet. The report "Enter the Anthropocene - Age of Man" can be read here and you can check out the photo gallery here. 

National Geographic photo

Oil transformed Dubai in the 1970s. The city now boasts the world's tallest building, giant malls, and some two million residents, who depend on desalinated seawater and air-conditioning—and thus on cheap energy—to live in the Arabian desert.

Also in the March issue is "The Surprising Face of Seven Billion," a poster showing a composite face of the world's most typical person. Other stories will follow throughout 2011.

Are you typical? What do you think of this?

Today is the 100th International Women's Day!

Today the world celebrates the International Women's Day. Did you know that March is Women's History Month? 

Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur not just on this day but throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Organisations, governments and women's groups around the world choose different themes each year that reflect global and local gender issues. In 2011, the theme is "Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women".

In 2011 we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of IWD. The day was commemorated for the first time on 19 March 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. More than one million women and men attended rallies on that first commemoration.

In 1975, during International Women's Year, the United Nations began celebrating 8 March as International Women's Day. Two years later, in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. 

Here's a special playlist to pay tribute to all women around the world!


Create a playlist at MixPod.com