An amazing professor who taught us a great last lesson.
In the lecture Mr. Pausch urged his students and colleagues to live life to the fullest. Among his words of wisdom:
"Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day because there's no other way to play it."
"We can't change the cards we're dealt, just how we play the hand. If I'm not as depressed as you think I should be, I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"Good teaching is always a performance, but what Randy did was in a class all by itself," says Andy van Dam, co-founder of the computer science department at Brown University, which Pausch attended as an undergraduate. "His students responded to him as athletes do to a great coach who cares not only about winning but about the team players as individuals."
Randy Pausch, died Friday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He was 47. He died at his home in southern Virginia.
Most felt condolences to his family, friends and students.
Bolivar Bolivarianono es un pensamientomuerto ni mucho menos un santo para prenderle una vela....Ali Primera. Today, we are remembering our Bolivar. What do you think about this great Venezuelan? How important is his legacy to you? Should we be proud of him? Was he a superheroe or just an ordinary human being?
In 1802, he married María Teresa Rodríguez del Toro y Alaysa, daughter of Bernardo Nicolás Rodríguez del Toro y Ascanio and wife Benita de Alaiza y Medrano. She died of yellow fever less than a year later and decided he would never remarry.
Now... What do I think about our "Libertador"... he was a great man ...an initiator and a true believer.. he had dreams and he pursued them... he was a man of honor and kept promises. I also think he was a human being of his time and he did as his conscience told him to do. He also could see that moral and education are our first necessities....
Some of his thoughts:
Usted formó mi corazón para la libertad, para la justicia, para lo grande, para lo hermoso. Yo he seguido el sendero que usted me señaló... No puede figurarse usted cuán hondamente se han grabado en mi corazón las lecciones que usted me ha dado " (Palabras de El Libertador a su maestro Don Simón Rodríguez 1797)
El que manda debe oír aunque sean las más duras verdades y, después de oídas, debe aprovecharse de ellas para corregir los males que produzcan los errores.
Moral y luces son los polos de una República, moral y luces son nuestras primeras necesidades" (Palabras de El Libertador ante el Congreso de Angostura - 15 de febrero 1819) What do you think about our Libertador? What are you doing to contribute to the development and growing of our country? If you had the chance to talk to Bolivar what would you tell him?
Do you like music? ... What about James Blunt? He's one of my fav! I couldn't resist to add the lyrics to this video... So, everybody... Let's all sing.
James Blunt (born James Hillier Blount, February 221974) is a British singer-songwriter whose debut album, Back to Bedlam, and single releases — especially the number one hit "You're Beautiful" — brought him to fame in 2005. His style is a mix of pop, folk and acoustic rock. Along with vocals, James Blunt plays a wide variety of instruments including the piano, guitar, organ, marimba and mellotron. His song "You're Beautiful" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2006.
Here we go again..... The first single from All The Lost Souls is called "1973" and was inspired by Blunt's nights out in a club called Pacha, in Ibiza. The song became another hit for Blunt reaching number-one in seven countries and reach the top in the European overall chart. It reached top 10 in twenty-nine countries.
Thanks so much James for so beautiful music....
Source: Answers.com video: International Collaboration
Well, my dear friends... we are almost done! These are some guidelines and reminders of what our final project is about. Check on the presentation and if you need it you ca download it form our file box.
Hello, There! Introducing a voice forum for our last week class... From now on... we are going to record our participations in class in these forums. I know... we are finishing our English class together, but you can always keep in touch with us through these conversations we are going to have in UTTERZ.
Let's get started with our first Conversation... All you have to do is ... click on the replies... Look at the tittle tutorial I put together for you (click on the image to see a larger picture of it).... if you have any questions... you know you can ask your partners or me.
And now, the conversation.... click to listen to the question and participate with your opinion... leave a message to your classmates and teacher.
What would you like to say on your final week class to your classmates and teacher?
This is powerpoint point presentation designed by a 17 years old student from Portugal. His name is João Paulo Alves and his presentation is competing at a Slideshare contest... go there check it out and vote it winner!!! Excellent message, design, and use of the language.
Ok... did you like it? what did you like about it? Contents, message, photos, words. What about you? Would you like to participate in this contest or at least contribute to the spreading of the going green and thinking green idea to save the world? Come on ... Let us know what you have to say... Leave a comment...
There are many stories about drug abuse. people dying, getting high, some kids even getting special medical treatments. Some kids do it to be cool, some for stress, and some for curiosity of how it feels. People do drugs because they think that taking drugs will make them feel good about themselves or takes away unwanted feelings, but drugs have other effects. Drugs change the chemicals in our brains, and when those chemicals change our feelings and actions change too.
There are many drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, and much more. If your friends ask you take drugs or get high, don't do it. If you say yes, you will get high and do something causing dangerous consequences. Many kids that take drugs think they can hide it from their parents, but they are wrong. Parents always have a way to find out about things that their children are hiding from them. Taking drugs can cause family members to fight and destroy families.
Be smart and think before you act. Don't waste your life in something that is not worth it. Drugs are trouble, so do yourself a favor and stay out of trouble. People who encourage you to use drugs are not your friends. Remember drugs makes you sick and damage your brain. People do crazy things when they are high. For example they may shoot themselves, throw themselves off a roof, or drown themselves in the bathtub! So be cool and stay away from drugs!
Now, How can we help our friends to say No to drugs.... any ideas? Let's us know.
Everybody is invited to join us every week! Sessions will take place in WIZIQ Fridays at 9:30 pm... Venezuela Time. We are -4:30 GMT
This week: we will getting familiar with WIZIQ and we will be meeting people from the world. All you have to do is to introduce yourself and tell us about your blogs and school life.
Friday, 20 June, 2008 6:30 PM To 8:30 PM SA Western Standard Time The link to the session is this: Click here
You can view a recording of a WIZIQ session here. Click on view recording to check what WIZIQ is like.
Let's start off with the easy part. ' I wish to' can mean the same as 'I want to' but it is much, much more formal and much, much less common.
I wish to make a complaint.
I wish to see the manager.
You can also use 'wish' with a noun to 'offer good wishes'.
I wish you all the best in your new job.
We wish you a merry Christmas.
Notice that when you want to offer good wishes using a verb, you must use 'hope ' and not 'wish'.
We wish you the best of luck.
We hope you have the best of luck.
I wish you a safe and pleasant journey.
I hope you have a safe and pleasant journey.
However, the main use of 'wish' is to say that we would like things to be different from what they are, that we have regrets about the present situation.
I wish I was rich.
He wishes he livedin Paris.
They wish they'd chosen a different leader.
I wish I hadn't told him.
Notice that the verb tense which follows 'I wish' is 'more in the past' than the tense corresponding to its meaning.
I'm overweight. I wish I was slimmer.
I never win at tennis. I wish I wona game occasionally.
It's raininghard. I wish it wasn't raining so hard.
I went to the pub last night. I wish I hadn't had so many beers.
I didn't go to the cinema. I wish I had gone.
I've eaten too much. I wish I hadn't eaten so much.
I'm going to see her later. I wish I wasn't.
I was wearing jeans. I wish I hadn't been wearing jeans.
I can't goto the party. I wish I could go.
I couldn't do all the questions in the exam. I wish I could have done them all.
In the case of 'will' , where 'will' means 'show willingness' we use 'would'.
He won't help me. I wish he would help me.
You're making too much noise. I wish you would be quiet.
You keep interrupting me. I wish you wouldn't do that.
Where 'will' means a future event, we cannot use 'wish' and must use 'hope'.
There's a strike tomorrow. I hope some buses will still be running.
I hope everything will be fine in your new job.
In more formal English, we use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was' after 'wish'.
Jhonny Ziskiend (My favorite Martian) Jhonny was a volunteer tutor. An Angel. Always willing to help his classmates. A special Thank you to you Jhonny. You will always be in our hearts.
I found this wonderful story by Grandma Lee. She has lived a long an interesting life. Check it out and think about how different her life has been from yours. Listen and look at her story.
Well, last week in level 4 and 5 classes, we discussed the use of Present Perfect. I found this great resource in the Internet and wanted to share it with you so you can have a better understanding of what this grammar point means. So, let's get started:
FORM: This is its magic formula .... [has/have + past participle] Examples:
You have seen that movie many times. Have you seen that movie many times? You have not seen that movie many times. We can use present perfect to talk about unspecified Time Before Now.We use it to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.
You CANNOTuse the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc.
We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc. Examples:
I have seen that movie twenty times. I think I have met him once before. There have been many earthquakes in California.
We use Present perfect to describe your experience You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.
Examples:
I have been to France. This sentence means that you have had the experience of being in France. Maybe you have been there once, or several times.
I have been to France three times. You can add the number of times at the end of the sentence.
I have never been to France. This sentence means that you have not had the experience of going to France.
I think I have seen that movie before. He has never traveled by train. Joan has studied two foreign languages. A: Have you ever met him? B: No, I have not met him.
We use Present perfect to describe change over time We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of time.
Examples:
You have grown since the last time I saw you. The government has become more interested in arts education. Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the Asian studies program was established. My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
We use Present perfect to describe accomplishments We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity. You cannot mention a specific time.
Examples:
Man has walked on the Moon. Our son has learned how to read. Doctors have cured many deadly diseases. Scientists have split the atom.
We use Present perfect to describe an uncompleted action you are expecting We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to happen.
Examples:
James has not finished his homework yet. Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate. Bill has still not arrived. The rain hasn't stopped.
We use Present perfect to describe multiple actions at different times We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible.
Examples:
The army has attacked that city five times. I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester. We have had many major problems while working on this project. She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why she is sick.
You can watch the following video By teacher David
According to Encyclopedia Britannica On line, today the world celebrates the creation of Amnesty International, which is an international organization headquartered in London that seeks to inform public opinion about violations of human rights, especially the abridgments of freedom of speech and of religion and the imprisonment and torture of political dissidents, and which actively seeks the release of political prisoners and the relief, when necessary, of their families. In 1977 Amnesty International was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
The organization was founded in London on May 28, 1961, through the principal efforts of Peter Benenson, who had been a defense lawyer for political prisoners in Hungary, South Africa, and Spain and who sought to establish a collective agency for the advancement of human rights.
In the 2007 Nickelback song, If Everyone Cared, Benenson's story about the start of Amnesty International is told, along with other Freedom Fighters of the century.It was announced that 100% of all digital sales for the song will be donated to the charities of Amnesty International, and the International Children's Awareness Canada.[1] This ties into the theme of the song and video of caring about something to work towards the improvement of human civilization.
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky Confusing stars for satellites I never dreamed that you'd be mine But here we are, we're here tonight
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
[Chorus:] If everyone cared and nobody cried If everyone loved and nobody lied If everyone shared and swallowed their pride Then we'd see the day when nobody died
And I'm singing
Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
And in the air the fireflies Our only light in paradise We'll show the world they were wrong And teach them all to sing along
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive Singing Amen, I, I'm alive (I'm alive)
[Chorus x2]
And as we lie beneath the stars We realize how small we are If they could love like you and me Imagine what the world could be
If everyone cared and nobody cried If everyone loved and nobody lied If everyone shared and swallowed their pride Then we'd see the day when nobody died When nobody died...
[Chorus]
We'd see the day, we'd see the day When nobody died We'd see the day, we'd see the day When nobody died We'd see the day when nobody died
Song meaning
The song discusses a very strong relationship between two people, who are always honest, supporting, and caring of each other. The chorus then describes the need for love and how the world would be better off if everyone cared for each other.
This one of their video promoting human rights respect. It is about the power of the signature.
Level 2!!! let's practice what we learned last class. According to About.com:
IN: Use 'in' months and years and periods of time:
in January
in 1978
in the twenties
also, use 'in' a period of time in the future:
in a few weeks
in a couple of days
AT: Use 'at' with precise time:
at six o'clock
at 10.30
at two p.m.
ON: Use 'on' with days of the week:
on Monday
on Fridays
also, use 'on' with specific calendar days:
on Christmas day
on October 22nd
IMPORTANT NOTES
in the morning / afternoon / evening - at night
We say in the morning, afternoon or evening BUT we say 'at night'
Go to About.com English as a second language to see the quiz. There are 15 questions in this quiz. Try to use only 10 seconds per question. At the end of the quiz, you will receive quiz feedback. Let me know how you did in the test by forwarding your results to me...
