LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES

Today is Wednesday 27th June 2012.

In 30 Days,

On Friday 27th July 2012,

the London Olympic Games

will start.

In 30 Days

 the Opening Ceremony

will take place.

By the way...

Talking about the Olympics...

I am sure that you already know these two facts about the Olympic Games...

1.- The Olympic Games  is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games are considered to be the world’s foremost sports competition and more than 200 nations participate. The Games occur every four years. 

2.- This summer, the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad, are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012.

But I am sure you don't know the music of the LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES...

If that is the case,

this is just for you...

***

The singer is Heather Small

and the title of the song is 

"Proud".

So, In order to get familiar with this music...

Watch the video "Sport at Heart", 

that is considered "The Official London 2012 Olympics Film", 

and tick the sports that appear symbolically on it:

Archery Athletics Badminton Basketball Beach Volleyball Boxing Canoe Slalom Canoe Sprint Cycling - BMX Cycling - Mountain Bike Cycling - Road Cycling - Track

Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Gymnastics - Artistic Gymnastics - Rhythmic Handball Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon Rowing Sailing

Shooting Swimming Synchronised Swimming Table Tennis Taekwondo Tennis Trampoline Triathlon Volleyball Water Polo Weightlifting Wrestling

How many sports can you see?

Now you can listen to the song again,

watching the Video "Proud" by Heather Small,

and complete the following 2 activities: 

Activity 1.-  JUMBLED WORDS

Listen to the song and Order the words of all the lines from the 1st paragraph:

-          look/window/I/my/into/my/mind/the/of -          reflections/fears/behind/left/I/the/of/I/know/I’ve -          ordinary/step/the/I/out/of -          ascending/soul/can /I/feel/my -          way/on/my/I/am -          now/stop/can’t/me -          can/you/same/and/do/the

………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………..

Activity 2.-  JUMBLED LINES

 Listen to the song and Order the lines from the 1st paragraph:

-          It's never too late to try -          If you make that break for freedom -          You could be so many people -          What have you done today to make you feel proud? -          What have you done today to make you feel proud? -          What have you done today to make you feel proud?

………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. ………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………..

SELF-CORRECTION.-

  
You can correct yourself the 2 previous activities 
having a look at the Lyrics 

A Last Question (just to finish) ...

Read the Lyrics of the song and look for a sentence in the 2nd paragraph that could be considered as the Slogan of Adult Education.

FURTHER INFORMATION.-

* You can read more about Heather Small's life 
in the following article published on the digital version of  

The Telegraph

** To be well-informed about the Olympic Games this summer,
 you can have a look at the

Official site of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

.

Euphoria

Do you know this lady ?

:(

Her name is Loreen
:!

She is a singer representing Sweden and

 the WINNER of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012

celebrated in Baku (Azerbaijan)
with the song "Euphoria".

**

This is the video-clip of her song:

Do you like t?
...

Have a look at the lyrics of the song...

"Euphoria"

Why, why can’t this moment last forevermore?
Tonight, tonight eternity’s an open door…
No, don’t ever stop doing the things you do.
Don’t go, in every breath I take I’m breathing you…

Euphoria
Forever, ’till the end of time
From now on, only you and I
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up
Euphoria
An everlasting piece of art
A beating love within my heart
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up

We are here, we’re all alone in our own Universe,
We are free, where everything’s allowed and love comes first,
Forever and ever together, we sail into infinity,
We’re higher and higher and higher, we’re reaching for divinity.

Euphoria
Forever, ’till the end of time
From now on, only you and I
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up
Euphoria
An everlasting piece of art
A beating love within my heart
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up

Forever we sail into infinity,
We’re higher, we’re reaching for divinity…

Euphoria, euphoria
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up
Euphoria….
An everlasting piece of art
A beating love within my heart
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up
Euphoria, euphoria
We’re going up-up-up-up-up-up-up

***

TASK.- 

Look for the Antonyms of the following words that appear in the lyrics of the song "Euphoria":

Lyrics	Antonyms
1.	beginning, start
2.	sadness, depression
3.	momentary, transitory
4.	exterior, outside

* You can use this dictionary . 

***

Never is too late...

Never is too late to learn a language...

... and to do many other things... !

Have a look at the 6 grandmothers

representing Russia at the 2012

 Eurovision Song Contest.

(They sing the Chorus in English).

Do you know that ...

 they were Second at the Final??

Yes!! ... funny but true !!

 They got the second position

behind Loreen (from Sweden).

Watch their "funny" (?) video ...

: D

Summer's Last Dance

To Donna

                              Donna Summer

                                   Donna Summer is an American singer-songwriter
                                   who died a few days ago (May 17th, 2012) in Florida.

                                   She was considered "The Queen of Disco"
                                   and was really famous during the late 1970's.

                                   I'm a 70's baby ang grew up with her songs.
                                   I particularly remember...
                                   her "Last Dance"...

                                                                                               ... A really nice voice.

 Let's pay tribute to Donna Summer with her 

"Last Dance" (1978)

Last dance / Last chance for love / Yes, it's my last chance / For romance tonight /

I need you by me / Beside me, to guide me / To hold me, to scold me /

'Cause when I'm bad / I'm so bad.

So let's dance the last dance / let's dance the last dance / 
let's dance this last dance tonight /

Yeah, will you be my Mr Right / Can you fill my appetite / I can't be sure / 
That you're the one for me / But all that I ask / is that you dance with me / 
Dance with me, yeah.

R.I.P.

(Rest In Peace)
.

An example to follow

                        Nick Vujicic 

We (You & Me) often complain about small silly things.

We (You & Me) are NOT stupid, 

but We (You & Me) Sometimes complain about stupid things.

We (You & Me) usually complain about little things that 

- to tell you the truth- are NOT important at all.

Next time, before starting complaining,
... PLEASE ...

think about Nick Vujicic ...

just for a second...

Nicholas James Vujicic (born 4 December 1982) is an Australian motivational speaker born with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. As a child, he struggled mentally and emotionally, as well as physically, but eventually came to terms with his disability and, at the age of seventeen, started his own non-profit organization, "Life Without Limbs".

(Wikipedia)

Probably, ( I'm sure ),

something will change on your mind 

after watching the following video song

"Something More", sang by Nick Vujicic ...

* Now Listen to the song "Something More"
 and Order the lines from the Chorus
(from 1'38'' to 2'05'')

                    (...) I see it in the stars, I feel it on the shore
                    (...) Than what we're living for
                    (...) I don't wanna waste another day, or night
                    (...) I don't wanna die
                    (...) I know there's something more
                    (...) I know there's something more
                    (...) I know there's something
                                                                                                     SELF-CORRECTION.-
                                                                                     You can check your answers here .

By the way...
Don't you think that  Nick Vujicic is simply  
an example to follow for all of us in our everyday life?

So, just to finish,

Remember a couple of things...

"Don't worry about stupid things in life".

&

Despite difficulties...

Whatever you do, 

no matter how hard it may be, 

"Don't give up the ship!"

.

APPEARANCES

                                    L.S.

.

Appearances aren't reality.

 In other words...

Appearances do not always equal reality.

Remember the English Idiom:

"Appearances can be deceiving"

("Las apariencias engañan"- in Spanish).

In my opinion,

People can look different from the way they really are...

***

Let me show this to you with an example...

Try the following experiment:

Have a look at this photograph...

Do you know this girl ?

Her name is Lindsey Stirling,

She is 25 years old

and she is American.

But ...

What is her job?

Guess her profession:

 (Tick the profession you think she works at from the list.)

I think she is a ...

TEACHER DOCTOR NURSE

POLICEWOMAN POSTWOMAN LAWYER

HOUSEWIFE SCIENTIST PSYCHOLOGIST

JOURNALIST ACTRESS SINGER

 

* If you have selected the last option (= SINGER), 

I'm afraid you are NOT RIGHT.

Sorry..., but she is NOT a SINGER.

Altough she is related to MUSIC, 

...

She

 is

NOT

 a 

SINGER

*
*

***

*****

*****

***

**

She

 is

 a 

VIOLINIST.

She is a great female Musician,

an Artist and a Composer

who plays the violin

wonderfully!

In fact,

Today she is considered one of the best Hip Hop Violinist of the world.

According to Wikipedia, 

"Lindsey Stirling is famous for her flexibility with her violin, 
performing music from country to hip hop."

(You can read more here )

YES ... She plays the violin

... but in a different way.

How?

Can you play a musical instrument and dance at the same time?

Have you ever seen a violinist playing the violin and dancing simultaneously?

She is Incredible! 

She plays the violin with passion.

She is a very talented violinist and adds her own style to violin music.

STOP !!

If you think (like some of my students) that Violin Music is ...

SAD

SERIOUS

QUIET / CALM

BORING

Watch the following video 

and look up (or check ) the Antonyms of the 4 previous adjectives !!

I hope you like it!

We all know that
everybody has a different taste of music.

You may like or dislike the violin.

But I'm sure about one thing...

You will agree that

She has a unique style of playing the violin:

Because she can combine the 2 things she loves:

Playing th violin

&

Dancing that type of music.

To tell you the truth...
 I like her!
And I don't like only what she does but also how she thinks.
Because -in my opinion- both are interconnected.

According to her own words...
"Through my unique style of playing, 
I want to prove that you don't have to conform to be accepted".

The important thing is the philosophy
of being yourself and being unique.
In other words,
The greatest value comes from
loving yourself for who you are.

To illustrate this idea, let's consider the following video
as an excellent example of her performance as a unique artist...

Watch it !
&
Enjoy it !



                                                                               Do you like the "Shadows" ?

Just to finish,
A Final Thought:
"Don't judge people / things (or music),
before you really get to know them."

Remember the English Idiom...

"Appearances can be deceiving"

("Las apariencias engañan"- in Spanish).

FURTHER INFORMATION

You can learn all about Lindsey Stirling on her WEBSITE , 

and you can also even keep up with her through her YouTube Channel 

or her  Facebook page.

What a Wonderful World !!

"Even in difficult times

There is a reason to be positive

And hopeful for the near future".
J.C. 

Sit down and relax

Open your eyes

Watch the video

and Listen to the song ...

It is a wonderful video by tyhe BBC and a powerful song-
with simple lyrics (but inspiring and encouraging).

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

( George Weiss / Bob Thiele )

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world

The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, What a wonderful world

* * * * * 

 

HISTORY OF THE SONG

The previous song, "What a Wonderful World", is a jazz song written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss; and it was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. 

Intended as an antidote for the increasingly racially and politically charged climate of everyday life in the United States at that time, the song also has a hopeful, optimistic tone with regard to the future. 

The song describes the wonders of simple little things in daily life. 

 ORIGINAL MUSIC

Now watch the video of the same song 
performed by Louis Armstrong 
before I was born...

For many people...,

"What a Wonderful World" is one of the best jazz song of all times.

It is a simple song, with simple lyrics, full of optimism,

that makes you go out to the streets ang hug everybody you meet.

What do you think?

Perhaps you think that...

This world is not a wonderful world,

but both this song and Armstrong are simply...

W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L.

*****

As an example, 

Have a look at this Social Experiment 

carried out in many countries all over the world... 

"FREE HUGS" - in English-

"ABRAZOS GRATIS"- in Spanish- or

"ABBRACCI GRATIS"/"REGALO ABBRACCI"- in Italian.

My Italian Friend Caterina Runfola sent the following video to me

showing the mentioned experiment in Sondrio (Italy):

 

In my opinion, 

The video, like the song "What a Wonderful World", 

describes the wonders of simple little things in daily life…

Don't you think so?

"It is amazing how one simple "free" hug 

can completely change a person's day".

J.C.

Titanic: A Disaster at Sea

The 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster 

 

THE TRAGEDY OF THE TITANIC:

A disaster at sea 100 years ago

The Titanic hits an iceberg at 11:40 p.m.
(20 minutes before midnight) 

on Sunday April 14, 1912
and sinks 2 hours and 40 minutes later
into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

The sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago
is one of the biggest news stories of the last century. 

In the days after the Titanic's collision,
the tragedy dominates the pages of the many newspapers 

all over the world. However not all of them contains the same information.

On April 15, 1912, in New York City,
only 2 newspapers reports the news of the disaster of the previous night.
But they do it in a very different way. 

Today we know that one of them is right and the other one is wrong.

Have a look at the front page of the 2 mentioned newspapers of that day,
and compare the two headlines:

NEWSPAPER    /    HEADLINE

1) ____________________  / ___________________

2) ____________________  / ___________________

 As you can observe,
"The New York Times" is the only newspaper that publishes correctly 

that piece of news on April 15, 1912, including the list of all the passengers.

The power of music to prevent panic

Music is an important entertainment on the Titanic. 

On the night of the collision, music also figures prominently in the ship's fateful night, 

as the musicians bravely tries to calm the passengers by playing for them as they go to their lifeboats.

Apparently, the Titanic band plays until the ship goes down, 

and their last song is "Nearer, My God, to Thee".

Today, that song is the most famous and most remembered hymn 

from that tragic night, with1517 deaths -including passengers and crew.

The Heroic Musicians

 “They kept it up to the very end. Only the engulfing ocean had power to drown them into silence.”   
CHARLOTTE COLLYER 
(TITANIC SURVIVOR)

Although the Titanic sails from Southampton (England),
the eight members of the Titanic Band (The Wallace Hartley Band) are from Liverpool.

When the ship hits the iceberg around 11:40 p.m.on April 14,
the band has already finished playing for the night,
but they continue playing to "cheer things up a bit".

The band plays the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee"
 immediately before the ship sinks.

After the Titanic hits the iceberg and begins to sink,
the band starts playing music to help keep the passengers calm as the crew loads the lifeboats.

 The Titanic Band continues playing until the end;
until the ship goes down.

None of the band members survives the sinking
and the story of them playing to the end is today a popular legend.

Wallace Hartley

Mr Wallace Hartley is a violinist and the leader of the Titanic's Band of 8 musicians 

that die at their posts when the ship sinks on April 15th, 1912.

Hartley is one of the three musicians who is engaged to marry in the summer of 1912.

Sadly, like many of his band mates, his intentions are to make this his last sea voyage 
and returns home to concert work instead. 

***

Just to finish
let's watch a powerful scene from the film "Titanic",
listen to the song "Nearer, My God, to Thee" on violin
and Wallace Hartley's last words...

 

Gentlemen...,

It has been a privilege 

playing with you tonight.

(Wallace Hartley's last words)

***

What do you think of  The Wallace Hartley Band's story?
And what about the song "Nearer, My God, to Thee"?

In my opinion, 

the song "Nearer, My God, to Thee" 

is as sad & dramatic as the story of the Titanic itself. 

Do you agree?

.