eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

\o/
Language Spot

Present perfect vs. past simple

What is wrong with the following sentences?

  1. JRR Tolkien has written some wonderful books.
  2. Pope John Paul II has made the world a better place.
  3. Ronald Reagan has been a great leader.

Two things are wrong: none of them is true and the wrong tense has been used because these people are all dead. We use the present perfect with dead people only when they have just died.

Example: Margaret Thatcher has just died. Everyone is very sad.

Now rewrite the sentences above so that they are both true and in the right tense.

Example: JRR Tolkien wrote some mediocre books.

If you finish before the others, add some more true statements about dead people.


(source: englishdroid.com)

Abdul: How did she die?
Mei-Ling: I trod on her.
Abdul: What?
Mei-Ling: I let her out for a little run around the room, then I trod on her.
Abdul: Oh. (Makes snuffling noises.)
Mei-Ling: Are you laughing, Abdul?
Abdul: No, I'm crying. It's very sad.
Mei-Ling: You're laughing, I can tell.
Abdul: No, honest, I'm not. (Laughing hysterically.)
Mei-Ling: Well, you won't get any more blowjobs from me.

(source: englishdroid.com)
Coursebooks are often criticised by ELT bores for being bland and safe. There is little mention of controversial themes, such as sex, religion and death. Homosexuality is invisible, although ELT itself is teeming with some of the biggest queens on the planet.

(source: english.com)

being born is like being kidnapped. and then being sold into slavery.



...

double consciousness.

fairy tales.

pra quem se interessar por fairy tales, recomendo esse site >>>

http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php3?
author=steel&book=english&story=_contents


é o livro que eu estou lendo disponível na net. [mas acho que está um pouco encurtado.]

downers.

>>> http://www.tramavirtual.com.br/downers

ainda não ouvi a banda, mas decidi postar mesmo assim. a banda é de um colega de trabalho. e tem showzinho marcado pra esse fim de semana.

bookworms crawling my legs.

decidi fazer umas book reviews aqui. nada muito sério. só impressões mesmo. :)


os cem melhores contos do século. (objetiva)
este livro me persegue há um bom tempo já. acho que vi uma cópia dele pela primeira vez quando eu estava no primeiro ano do ensino médio. e isso foi em 2000. bem, pelo menos, eu acho que foi. enfim, eu gosto de contos. acho que das poucas boas coisas que as escolas ensinam, essa foi uma das melhores.


o livro tem contos de vários autores, o que acabou sendo bom para eu me familiarizar com um monte de gente que eu nem conhecia ou que eu só conhecia de ouvir falar e tal. um dos autores que eu gostei muito de conhecer foi rubem fonseca. engraçado, eu já até tinha visto no perfil de uma menina no orkut a seguinte frase: "quando crescer, quero ser rubem fonseca" ou algo do tipo. enfim, eu nem quero ser ele, mas gosto do jeito dele. é tão... oral.

bem, eu ainda não terminei de ler esse livro - e provavelmente não irei terminar tão cedo. agora mesmo estou na página 239 (das 600 e poucas que ele tem), a ponto de começar um conto da clarice lispector. acho que isso dá uma idéia do meu interesse pelo livro - ou seja, razoável.

não acho que seja um livro perfeito e tudo mais, mas mesmo assim é recomendável.





great ghost stories. (chancellor press)
bem, aqui está um livro que está longe de ser recomendável.

o great ghost stories eu ganhei através dos meus pontos de bônus na livraria sbs. pela descrição eu achei que o livro iria send shivers down my spines, pois é, but it didn't. eu ainda estou na página 72 (das 641) e não me vejo moving forward tão cedo. até agora as histórias não envolveram fantasma nenhum e são tão chatinhas ao ponto de você ficar com sono e adiar a leitura...

claro, que eu também não posso afirmar muito sobre o livro de uma maneira geral porque eu li muito pouco dele até agora; espero me surpreender ainda com os grandes nomes que a obra traz (edgar allan poe, d.h. lawrence, etc.) - caso eu continue a leitura, anyway.







ah, é? (editora record)
esse livro é ótimo. a wikipédia afirma que essa é "a obra-prima do estilo minimalista". diz também que este livro é "o ponto de partida do miniconto no seu formato contemporâneo". adorei este livro. foi um achado nas estantes do meu pai. além dos minicontos excelentes, o livro também tem várias ilustrações ótimas. é um livro curtinho, dá pra ler num dia só. super recomendável. a must read. ;)






english fairy tales. (wordsworth editions limited)
este é o livro que eu estou lendo agora. adoro fairy tales. eu lembro uma vez que meu pai chegou em casa com um livro imenso de contos de fada, com várias ilustrações coloridas. um sonho de criança mesmo. tenho o livro até hoje. o livro que eu estou lendo agora eu achei na biblioteca da cultura inglesa, na terça-feira. o livro tem todas os contos de fadas tradicionais, na versão "complete and unabridged". o único defeito que eu consigo apontar até agora é o fato de o livro não trazer muitas ilustrações. acho que isso se deve ao fato de que o livro não tem muita cara de um livro feito para crianças. a linguagem não é simplificada e traz até expressões arcaicas, daquelas que você só encontra lendo shakespeare ou marlowe.

além de poder me deliciar com os contos fantásticos (em toda extensão de significados que essa palavra atinge), também é possível lê-los com um olhar crítico-feminista, o que faz a leitura ainda mais interessante.



i love paintbrush!

i am not indie at all!





How indie are you? test by ridethefader

Who are you trying to fool? Just because you own a couple of Weezer albums doesn't mean that you're uberindie. Indie people don't hear about cutting edge new bands from MTV. At least the ignorant don't know what they're missing...
happy birthday, tish!
com vontade.
dothewingsofyourbutterfly?
sem vontade.

eu estava no google, pesquisando o termo indie, logo depois do leo ter me mostrado uma comunidade anti-indie [?]. enfim, acabei achando uma propaganda do the independent. nem esperava achar nada relacionado ao the independent, mas enfim...

o que eu queria dizer está relacionado à elasticidade da língua. olha que engraçado esse anúncio. ele quebra com a ordem sintática esperada (i.e., S + V + O).

engraçado isso, né? enfim, nem é. pelo menos, não se você não se interessa por sintaxe e tal.

100 tanka poems

mnemonics

mnemonics

shazzang!

shazzang!
ajoelha na minha frente
pensa que eu sou pirulito
vamos ver onde tu chega
prova que você é paquito



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. . .

"as cores são mais vivas do que eu."

If You're Feeling Sinister

Anthony walked to his death because he thought he'd never feel this way again
If he goes back to the house then things would go from bad to worse, what could he do?
He wants to remember things exactly as he left them on that funny day
And if there is something else beyond, he isn't scared because
It's bound to be less boring than today
Bound to be less boring than tomorrow

Hilary went to her death because she couldn't think of anything to say
Everybody thought that she was boring, so they never listened anyway
Nobody was really saying anything of interest, she fell asleep
She was into S&M and Bible studies
Not everyone's cup of tea she would admit to me
Her cup of tea, she would admit to no one
Her cup of tea, she would admit to me
Her cup of tea, she would admit to no one

Hilary went to the Catholic Church because she wanted information
The vicar, or whatever, took her to one side and gave her confirmation
Saint Theresa's calling her, the church upon the hill is looking lovely
But it doesn't interest, the only thing she wants to know is
How and why and when and where to go
How and why and when and where to follow
How and why and when and where to go
How and why and when and where to follow

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
He'll try in vain to take away the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever

When she got back, her spirituality was thrown into confusion
So she got a special deal on renting
From the man at Rediffusion
"Look at me! I'm on TV
It makes up for the shortcomings of being poor
Now I'm in a million pieces", picked up for deliberation
By the people listening at home
By the people watching on the telly
By the people listening at home
By the people watching on the telly

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
The chances are you'll probably feel better
If you stay and play with yourself
abulia \ay-BOO-lee-uh\ noun

: abnormal lack of ability to act or to make decisions

isn't believe a funny word?
well, now i'm the one left wondering what to do.
Why there will never be a black Brokeback Mountain

The phenomenon of black men cheating on women with other men is fuelling a relationship panic in the US

viva la repartee!

“And if you were my wife, I'd drink it!”


-- Winston Churchill's reply to an annoyed Lady Nancy Astor, who had said, “If you were my husband, I'd poison your coffee!”



credits: http://vivalarepartee.com./

take that!

ah, claro. não podia deixar de mencionar meus progressos mentais (?). decidi fazer terapia. não comecei ainda. mas já me decidi. bem, já é alguma coisa.

ah, e também comecei a ler um livro que a psicóloga da minha irmã tinha recomendado pra ela. é tipo auto-ajuda e faz você acreditar que tudo pode dar certo e tal. estou me sentindo ótimo. adoro ser enganado assim.

enfim, o livro é sobre amar/amor e whatever. ah, estou tentando aprender as lições direitinho.

olha só: esses dias na unb me pediram um resumo. eu consegui recusar. falei que achava injusto que eu tinha me esforçado pra fazer algo que outra pessoa ia usar pra entregar pra o professor. a dificuldade foi em me fazer compreendido porque quem me pediu o resumo foi uma aluna estrangeira da unb e a nossa comunicação em português foi um pouco difícil. enfim, no final deu tudo certo. pra mim pelo menos. :D ah, nem deu tão certo assim. fiquei me sentindo culpado, sei lá. porque a menina ficou lá com aquela cara de bunda e tal. mas eu resisti. não entreguei o resumo. a partir de agora não 'empresto' mais nada das coisas que eu fiz. se eu posso ficar a madrugada inteira acordado a base de café que eu mesmo faço, por que as pessoas também não podem?
ano novo, vida nova.

estou lendo mais do que nunca na vida. resolvi dar um propósito útil (?) à minha existência. atualmente estou lendo 4 livros ao mesmo tempo. (na verdade, são só dois mesmo, mas eu queria impressionar e tal...)
hoje mesmo fui à biblioteca da casa thomas jefferson. cheguei lá umas 10 e pouco; saí 2 da tarde! acho engraçado isso - desses ambientes de biblioteca me inspirarem a ler e tal. na thomas mesmo, sempre quando eu vou, eu acabo lendo coisas que eu nunca leria otherwise. da última vez, por exemplo, eu li até um artigo sobre semiótica. e eu nem tenho tanto interesse em semiótica assim.
enfim, fui na thomas pra pegar um livro de freud (totem and taboo). foi recomendação de uma professora com quem eu fiz uma matéria de literatura feminista norte-americana. acabei pegando um livro do nick hornby (how to be good) instead. quase a mesma coisa, i suppose. eu peguei o livro do nick porque eu já tinha lido 'high fidelity' (que até virou filme) e, tipo, o livro mudou minha vida na época. foi trágico até. não vou explicar. se quiser, vá ler o livro e depois a gente conversa. enfim. ah. tá.


You scored as Loner.

Loner


75%

Goth


56%

Drama nerd


31%

Geek


25%

Ghetto gangsta


25%

Prep/Jock/Cheerleader


19%

Punk/Rebel


13%

Stoner


6%

What's Your High School Stereotype?
created with QuizFarm.com

i'm still jenny from the block.

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When I'm dressed as a woman, I would never speak in a squeaky voice and defer to boorish men. I was once at a trannie do in a pub function room in Twickenham. After the pub closed a few select punters were let in for a drink, and there was one bloke, a rugger-bugger type, who was boring on. After a while he said to us, "I think you're brilliant because I find myself treating you like real women."

I replied, "Yeah, you've monopolised the conversation and ignored us. That's pretty realistic."



read article here.



"He knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you chose - not to need permission for desire - well now, that was freedom."

(Toni Morrison, Beloved, p.162)
"A story goes that a man prays to God. God appears and the
man says, 'Lord! Our billions of years are your one second.
Our billions of dollars are merely a penny for you. Could you
grant me a penny?' God smiles, says 'Certainly! Back in a
second,' and disappears."
"I'm just trying to look at something without blinking." (Toni Morrison)
Gluttony is good for you

Eat up. The fatter you are, the less likely you are to get depressed and commit suicide
Cat Calls 911 to Help Owner,
Police Say

he loves me! yeah! yeah! yeah!

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"if you find yourself caught in love
say a prayer to the man above
thank him for everything you know
you should thank him for every breath you blow
if you find yourself caught in love
say a prayer to the man above
you should thank him for every day you pass
thank him for saving your sorry ass . . ."


Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional.
You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.
What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?




peguei o teste no blog da .ju.
my eyes don't glaze over.
seu cabelo é tão bonito/
sua franja é tão legal
eu adoro sua camisa/
vc é o maioral/
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Taking a Visitor to See the Ruins

Taking a Visitor to See the Ruins


by Paula Gunn Allen


>>> click here <<<

heart-award

It had never occured to me
Up to now –
Why?
I’d never thought
And now
Oh, now
I have the because . . .

Her love so cherished
Her dimpled cheeks
Her golden hair locks
Her milky skin
Her fair complexion

Her love

Above all

Her warm hug
A token?
A trophy

His love(liness)
Marred by vying
For the one trophy
He can’t win

She comes in third

tanka

what is tanka? < ? >

samples of tanka < ! ! >

T h e Y ’ s

The sheer presence of her in the room arose in him the strangest feelings. The sight of her reducing him to a 13-year-old boy, as he bitterly recalled that afternoon when they’d kissed.
"I don’t want any more treegrows. Now I want ailurophiles. And some catastrophic sympathy."
"Oh come, child
Come and rescue me
’cause you have seen some
Unbelievable things"

> ! <

< ! >

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meaningful, suggestive, indicative, evocative, revealing, expressive, pregnant
>> Guardian Unlimited
Special Report <<

>> Gender Issues

A Word A Day

This week's theme: words related to words, writing, and language.

Sprachgefuhl (SHPRAKH-guh-fyool) noun
A feeling for language or a sensitivity for what is correct language.[From German Sprachgefuhl, from Sprache (language) and Gefühl (feeling).]

If you have Sprachgefuhl, you have an ear for idiomatically appropriate language. The best illustration of Sprachgefuhl, or the lack of it, was an 1855 Portuguese-English phrase book intended to help Portuguese speakers master the English language.

Titled "English As She Is Spoke", it was authored by one Pedro Carolino. The only problem was that Pedro didn't know any English. On the plus side, he did have a Portuguese-French phrase book. Pedro simply picked up a French-English dictionary and tried the circuitous route: Portuguese to French to English. The result was such gems as:

Names for body parts:
"Of the Man: The inferior lip; The superior lip; The fat of the leg."

Food: "Eatings: Some black pudding; A little mine; Hog fat; Some wigs; Vegetables boiled to a pap."

Swimming instructions: "For to swim: I row upon the belly on the back and between two waters."

Idioms: "Idiotism: Cat scalded fear the cold water."

This book was even used as a textbook in the Portuguese colony of Macao.I regret to say they eventually stopped using it. Imagine, in just a few years, we could have witnessed a lovely new strain of the English language take root.

Pedro was simply ahead of his time. Today anyone can achieve the sameresults with computer translation.

-Anu Garg (garg@wordsmith.org)

"Despite this fecundity (perhaps because of it) Avallone had major problems with his raw material: words, and the uses to which they can be put. He was not, in short, a man with an innate Sprachgefuhl." Jack Adrian; Obituary: Michael Avallone; Independent (London, UK); Mar 20, 1999.

it's limerick time!

limericks sources on the internet:

http://home.earthlink.net/~kristenaa/
[limericks sorted out into categories. neat display.]

http://www.loonylimericks.com/
[take a tip from me, don't waste your time browsing this site.]
A limerick fan from Australia
regarded his work as a failure:
his verses were fine
until the fourth line
???? ???? ??? ??? ?????

"Limerick Chick"
There once was an old man of Esser,
Whose knowledge grew lesser and lesser,
It at last grew so small
He knew nothing at all,
And now he's a college professor.

Noam Kuzar
There once was a man from Nantucket
Whose dick was so long he could suck it
He said with a grin
As he wiped off his chin,
"If my ear were a c#%+ I would f@#* it!"

Dan Benko
There once was a man named McGill,
Whose acts grew exceedingly ill,
He insisted on habits,
involving white rabbits,
and a bird with a flexible bill.

"Al the Pal"
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were imprisoned, so what could they do?
Said the fly, "let us flee!"
"Let us fly!" said the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Ogden Nash

Stein for Brazil?

Stein for Brazil?

I went a trawling through this site
like one of Eric's gulls
feeding with a frenzy on words so bright
whilst experiencing one of life's lazy lulls
and you'd think after reading 90 minutes of quality prose,
that I could write better than this!
anyways,I chanced upon a lovely line
written in typical samba rhythm
by one Marcus Murilo,
describing how Brazil now lord it over
the formulaic attacking forces of the founders :

"the creature has taken over the role of the creator"

and then some!
though some bright spark, will undoubtedly
tell me, that the line is from a classic,
perhaps Frankenstein,
although there's no sign
of Big Frankiein
the revered shirts of the CSF
unless of course
their snappy strikers
have swiped his teeth!



© Clik the mouse, 21st July 2005

Ronaldo and Ronaldinho -
can there be any other explanation?;-)

Inspired by a very strange mixture of poems :
'GOD Save The Queen', by Marcus Murilo
and the one that sent me searching :
'Poor Pat', by Daniel McDonagh

;)

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http://www.leviathan.co.uk/menu.html
She did not tell them to clean up their lives or to go and sin no more. She did not tell them they were the blessed of the earth, its inheriting meek or its glorybound pure.
She told them that the only grace they could have was the grace they could imagine. That if they could not see it, they would not have it.


(Beloved, p. 88, Toni Morrison)
“He saw them boys do that to me and let them keep on breathing air? He saw? He saw? He saw?”
“Hey! Hey! Listen up. Let me tell you something. A main ain’t a goddam ax. Chopping, hacking, busting every goddam minute of the day. Things get to him. Things he can’t chop down because they’re inside.”

(Beloved, p. 69, Toni Morrison)

the end.

"The end is when there is no more,
but some days don't end with evening;
I don't even know how endless the end is,
but love doesn't end with one's leaving."

(Mommy: what when why, Katy Cox)
Carrefour

O you,Who came upon me once
Stretched under apple-trees just after bathing,
Why did you not strangle me before speaking
Rather than fill me with the wild honey of your words
And then leave me to the mercy
Of the forest bees?

pois é, estou postando este poema de novo. mas agora porque ele faz sentido pra mim - mais do que fez antes. enfim, é. acho que está tudo muito claro e eu nem preciso dizer mais nada.

ah, pra saber de onde eu tirei esse poema, dê uma olhada nos archives or scroll down to the bottom of the page. ;)
The US has used torture for decades. All that's new is the openness about it

By ignoring past abuses, opponents of torture are in danger of pushing it back into the shadows instead of abolishing it

10 things we didn't know

10 things we didn't know

...

her agonizing howl cutting through the night, razor-like
the low whispers bearing her name floating in the cool air of the dark evening shadows
the chants that follow thereupon evoking hope
(one that is still green... green... green?)

finally she lifts her head from the mat
we take her in, having been taken in by her first
the bowls left by her side a sign of hope
- not that her pain will leave her sorry body
rather, that she will last the night

i hope she won't
i mute that thought, though
a cat will do us just as good

falling in love is so hard on the knees

"we was making love
when you told me that you loved me
i thought old cupid, he was taking aim
i was believer when you told me
that you loved me
and then you called me
someone else's name
there ain't gonna be
no more begging you 'please'
you know what i want
and it ain't one of these
you're bad to the bone..."

lembrei que aerosmith é bom. enfim, pelo menos eu gosto. ;)

s2

From underneath you surface
Like a snake
Crawling out from within the crevice
Among a multitude of stars
You shine – the brightest
I, the prey
Can only behold your gaze



acho que fazia tempo que eu não colocava nada assim aqui.... enfim. é.

[!]

i just wanna be myself.



{trying to drop the drama. at least for a while.}

carrefour

Carrefour

O you,
Who came upon me once
Stretched under apple-trees just after bathing,
Why did you not strangle me before speaking
Rather than fill me with the wild honey of your words
And then leave me to the mercy
Of the forest bees?



[poema q não diz nada sobre mim. postei pq o título é carrefour. e pq eu gostei dele. E SÓ!]

http://www.sappho.com/poetry/a_lowell.html#top

s2

You shine, Beloved,
You and the moon.
But which is the reflection?




http://www.sappho.com/poetry/a_lowell.html#top

Amnesty attacks Brazilian police over entrenched violence

Amnesty attacks Brazilian police over entrenched violence

Increasingly repressive police tactics and failing security policies have sentenced Brazilians to a life of crime and violence, says a report released yesterday.

je suis brigitte bardot

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You're Brigitte Bardot!

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oi.

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EFL teacher hailing from the middle of nowhere