I am spending my Christmas holidays in Rome. Thanks to my dearest friends Tyron and Marzia I have been able to taste Paneforte or ‘strong bread’. It is a delicious, candied confection, more than a cake. It is a traditional Christmas cake from Siena in Tuscany. It dates back to the Crusades and it is a predecessor of modern day fruitcake. Also, I tried another typical Christmas Italian sweet, Panettone, made with raisins and dry fruit.
With my friends, I have wandered about the Eternal City centre revisiting such antique monuments as the Colosseum, Capitol Hill and its Roman Museum, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its stands selling handicraft Cribs, The Monument to the Fallen at Piazza Venezia, and the lift that exists there which takes you to the very top of the monument and its breath taking sights of the city, etc. All under the new light shed by being in the company of my friends which showed me their city as only a local can. Again I thank them for this wonderful experience which has given me new knowledge of Rome.
This is a list of vocabulary items related to social sciences
Society A society is a population of humans characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and/or institutions. More broadly, a society is an economic, social and industrial infrastructure, in which a varied multitude of people are a part of. Members of a society may be from different ethnic groups.
Antisocial Antisocial (against society) is often used in colloquial speech to mean unfriendly or not sociable (asocial). In scientific use, antisocial refers more specifically to a person who is harmful or hostile to others, or to society in general.
Social exclusion Social exclusion relates to the alienation or disenfranchisement of certain people within a society. It is often connected to a person's social class, educational status, relationships in childhood and living standards and how these might affect access to various opportunities. It also applies to some degree to people with a disability, to minority men and women of all races, to the elderly, and to youth (Youth Exclusion). Anyone who deviates in any perceived way from the norm of a population may become subject to coarse or subtle forms of social exclusion.
Here are some definitions of Social exclusion :
“Social exclusion is about the inability of our society to keep all groups and individuals within reach of what we expect as a society...[or] to realise their full potential." "Whatever the content and criteria of social membership, socially excluded groups and individuals lack capacity or access to social opportunity. Social class Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in societies or cultures.
People may be part of lower, middle or higher classes.
Minority A minority or subordinate group is a sociological group that does not constitute a politically dominant voting majority of the total population of a given society.
A minority group can be defined as:
"a group of people who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from the others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of collective discrimination." Examples of minority groups include emigrants, blacks, ...
Social solidarity Social solidarity refers to the integration, and degree and type of integration, shown by a society or group.
Association A voluntary association or union (also sometimes called a voluntary organization, unincorporated association, or just an association) is a group of individuals who voluntarily enter into an agreement to form a body (or organization) to accomplish a purpose for the good of society.
Examples of association include associations for the defence of human rights, minorities, the disabled ...
Multicultural Society A society in which there is a cultural diversity.
Health care Health care, or healthcare, is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of health through services offered by the medical, dental, nursing, and allied health professions. Health care embraces all the goods and services designed to promote health, including “preventive, curative and palliative interventions, whether directed to individuals or to populations”.
Voluntary work Voluntary work is done by volunteers for the benifit of a community or society.
A volunteer is someone who works for a community or for the benefit of environment primarily because they choose to do so. Volunteers do not normally get paid.
Homelessness Homelessness is the condition and social category of people who lack housing, because they cannot afford, or are otherwise unable to maintain, regular, safe, and adequate shelter.
People who are part of this social category are called homeless people.
Poverty Poverty is the deprivation of common necessities such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include the lack of access to opportunities such as education and employment which aid the escape from poverty and/or allow one to enjoy the respect of fellow citizens.
Citizenship Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city or town but now usually a country) and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen.
Gender Roles A gender role is defined as a set of perceived behavioral norms associated particularly with males or females, in a given social group or system. It can be a form of division of labour by gender.
Domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or spousal abuse) occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. Domestic violence often refers to violence between spouses, or spousal abuse but can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners.
Novel: THE PAINTED VEIL by William Somerset Maugham
Summary: Kitty Fane is a beautiful young woman whose mother has raised her to make a suitable match. But Kitty refuses a number of suitors; several years pass and eventually she is reduced to marrying Walter, the colonial bacteriologist in Hong Kong. Walter is a shy and awkward man who loves Kitty passionately, but has no idea how to express it; Kitty is charming and socially adept, but vacuous. In Hong Kong Kitty engages in a yearlong affair with Charles Townsend, the assistant colonial secretary, and a married man whose celebrity potential far eclipses Walter's stolid scientific work. The novel opens when Walter discovers his wife's infidelity.
Kitty believes that Townsend is madly in love with her and prepared to divorce his wife and sacrifice his career to marry her. Walter, who suffers from a broken heart, gives Kitty an ultimatum--either Townsend must promise to divorce his wife and marry her, or Kitty must accompany Walter to a city in the interior where he has volunteered to go to fight the cholera epidemic. Townsend demurs; Kitty is crushed; and the desperately unhappy pair travels to the cholera-ridden city, where they move into the house of the newly-dead missionary.
There, Walter (who is also a medical doctor) sets to work, day and night, to institute public health measures and care for dying patients. Meanwhile, Kitty meets Worthington, the British consul, a cynical alcoholic, who is at heart a good and honest person; and the French nuns, who labor tirelessly to care for orphans and the ill. Impressed by the nuns' selflessness, Kitty begins to devote herself to assisting them and trying to understand their spirituality.
When he learns that Kitty is pregnant, Walter asks if it is his child; Kitty responds, "I don't know." This completes the destruction of Walter's heart, and he soon dies of cholera--presumably as a result of experimenting on himself to find a cure. Kitty learns that the nuns, the soldiers, and all the people of the city consider Walter a saint, who has sacrificed himself for their welfare. However, while Kitty has learned to respect her husband, she could never love him.
Kitty stays only briefly in Hong Kong before returning home to London. Shortly before her arrival, she learns that her mother, whom she believes is responsible for her (Kitty's) shallowness, has died. The novel ends with Kitty vowing to bring up her daughter as a strong and independent woman, and preparing to move with her father to the Bahamas, where he has recently been appointed Chief Justice.
Mohammed Moulessehoul known asYasmina Khadra(b.January 10,1955) is an Algerian author.
Yasmina Khadra is the nom de plume of the former Algerian army officer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He is the author of six other books published in English, among them The Attack and The Swallows of Kabul, In the Name of God, and Wolf Dreams. He took the feminine pseudonym to avoid submitting his manuscripts for approval by military censors while he was still in the army.
Yamina Khadra is a very productive Algerian writer. He always felt like a writer, even though he was an officer in the Algerian army for 36 years. He was born in the Sahara Desert. His father was a male nurse and his mother was a nomad. In 1964 his father sent him to a military school in Algeria, where he discovered literature and his love for writing. He chose to write in French because his French teacher encouraged him and also because of the censorship of the Algerian authorities. He started with short stories in 1973 in a book called "Houria". In 1975 he joined the Military Academy of Cherchell, where he became on officer. He resigned from the army in 2000 because his writing activity was not compatible with his military duties. After producing a couple of books of short stories, he decided to write some thrillers, to take place during the dreadful years of terrorism in Algeria. He also created at the same time his alter ego, Commissaire Mohammed Llob, his personal spokesman for a present-day Algeria. He revealed his true name and story in his autobiography, "L'Ecrivain", in 2001. He explained that his nickname comes from his wife's surnames, because he admires the courage of women in general and of his wife in particular. The rights of his book "L'Attentat" ("The Attack") were bought by the producers of Brokeback Mountain (2005). His book, "Les Sirenes de Bagdad", (2006) is about the conflict in Iraq. his latest book "Ce que le jour doit à la nuit",(2008). Yasmina Khadra is now living in Aix en Provence in the south of France.
Set in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban, this extraordinary novel takes readers into the lives of two couples: Mohsen, who comes from a family of wealthy shopkeepers whom the Taliban has destroyed; Zunaira, his wife, exceedingly beautiful, who was once a brilliant teacher and is now no longer allowed to leave her home without an escort or covering her face. Intersect... more »ing their world is Atiq, a prison keeper, a man who has sincerely adopted the Taliban ideology and struggles to keep his faith, and his wife, Musarrat, who once rescued Atiq and is now dying of sickness and despair.
Desperate, exhausted Mohsen wanders through Kabul when he is surrounded by a crowd about to stone an adulterous woman. Numbed by the hysterical atmosphere and drawn into their rage, he too throws stones at the face of the condemned woman buried up to her waist. With this gesture the lives of all four protagonists move toward their destinies.
The Swallows of Kabul is a dazzling novel written with compassion and exquisite detail by one of the most lucid writers about the mentality of Islamic fundamentalists and the complexities of the Muslim world. Yasmina Khadra brings readers into the hot, dusty streets of Kabul and offers them an unflinching but compassionate insight into a society that violence and hypocrisy have brought to the edge of despair.
The film begins with a CIA internal memo being typed across the screen. It states that a man named Arlington Steward has recovered from severe burn wounds and is delivering units related to the Mars project.
The film then opens up in 1976 with Norma and Arthur Lewis cuddling in bed and awaking at 5:45 am as the doorbell rings. Norma goes downstairs and looks through the peephole, seeing a black car drive off. Upon opening the door, she sees a package on her doorstep. Inside, she and her husband find a wooden box with a button protected by a glass dome, locked with a key, and a note, reading Mr. Steward will come at 5:00 pm. Norma and Arthur then enjoy a nice breakfast with their son, Walter.
Arthur goes to work at NASA, where he works in optics, and helped in designing the camera on the Viking Mars probe. He finds he has been rejected from the astronaut program due to the fact that he failed the psychological exam. Norma goes to her job as a teacher at an elite private school teaching literature, where they are discussing Sartre's vision of Hell. One of her students remarks on her limp, after which she shows her class her disfigured right foot, missing four toes. After class Norma is informed by her boss that she will no longer be getting a discount for tuition and wont be able to pay for school for her son. Later that day Norma returns home and Arlington Steward appears at their door. Half of his face is missing. Norma looks at the clock and realizes it is 5:00 pm.
Arlington says that if she or her husband pushes the button, someone in the world that they do not know will die, and they will receive one million dollars. Arlington hands Norma a $100 bill from the brief case of money, and says she gets to keep it if the button is pushed or not. Arlington leaves and tells her she has 24 hours. Arthur returns and Norma tells him what has happened.
After much discussion about whether or not they should press the button, and some tinkering with the box (Arthur finds nothing inside it), Norma suddenly jerks forward and hits it. The button rises slightly.
Arlington returns and presents Norma and Arthur with the million, without asking whether they pressed the button or not. He informs that they will not know who will receive the offer next, and implies that Arthur, Norma, or their son will be the ones to die. Arthur storms after Arlington and attempts to return the million, but Arlington drives off. Arthur gets his license plate number.
A 911 call is shown, where someone has been shot. The police enter the house and find a woman shot through the heart, and a little girl locked in the bathroom upstairs.
Arthur and Norma then attend a wedding rehearsal dinner, where Arthur is instructed to select a present from a table (secret Santa). A waiter (who happens to be the student of Norma's who prompted her to reveal her disfigurement), holds up two fingers to Arthur. Arthur then sees a box much like the one left on their doorstep, with the button in it, and chooses that one. He and Norma find a poor quality picture of Arlington inside.
Norma's sister tells Arthur that the student Arthur saw was the one who made fun of his wife's foot. Arthur meets and asks Norma's dad (who is a police officer) to run the license plate number of Arlington's car. Norma receives a phone call (she is informed by a waiter whose nose begins to bleed as he's leading her to the phone). It is Arlington, who scolds her for allowing her husband to make contact with the police (Arlington somehow knows Arthur has spoken to Norma's father). Arthur angrily approaches the student from Norma's class and yells at him for making fun of Norma. He then storms out of the party, with Norma following him. As they start their car, they see "No Exit" (the title of the Sartre play they went to see earlier) written into the frost on their windshield.
When they get home, Arthur takes their babysitter, Dana, home. Dana had earlier gone down into the basement with their son Walter, to see Arthur's Mars collection. She notices the picture of everyone who worked on the development of the camera. As they are driving, Dana acts strangely, asking Arthur strange questions such as "Whats pushing your buttons?" and comments like "Look into the light." Her nose begins to bleed and she passes out. Arthur attempts to wake her up and finds her driver's license, which shows her name is not Dana, but Sara, and she is from Boston. He reaches the motel, where "Dana" has been staying and she wakes up with a start. She tells Arthur it's not safe for him there, and to look in the mirror because that's the only place with the answer. She then hurries away. In the motel, every door she passes opens and a startled looking person stares her down. She reaches her room, where she has a large map and pictures of Arthur, Norma, and Walter.
At home Arthur looks at the large picture in the basement, and sees that Arlington (prior to his injury) is in the photo.
At a supermarket, Norma is approached by a panicked woman who tells her to look up a certain call number in the library, and not to trust her husband, before passing out with a bloody nose. Arthur finds out that Arlington's license plate is registered to the NSA. He asks Norma's father if he can go with him to see the house where the shooting mentioned earlier took place. Once there, he finds pictures of Arlington and a picture of a Human Resources book, and a library call number. Arthur learns that the woman was shot at 4:45 PM, the same time Norma pushed the button.
Norma and Arthur both visit the library, separately. Norma avoids Arthur, as instructed by the woman in the supermarket. Norma find a film reel, which shows Arlington prior to his disfigurement. Arthur is followed by a crowd of startled looking people. He finds himself in a large hall filled with more scared looking people. He approaches a woman he learns is Arlington's wife, and she tells him to follow her. He is presented with three "gateways," made of hovering water. Two lead to eternal damnation, one to salvation. Remembering the student who held up two fingers, Arthur picks gate two. He enters the water and finds himself whirling through whiteness.
Norma is also led by two hollow looking women to Arlington. He asks her how she felt when she saw his disfigurement, and she says she felt love, because of her foot. She says that she felt bad for herself because of her foot, and seeing someone with a face disfigurement made her realize she would never feel sorry for herself ever again. Many years ago, her brother had dropped a barbell on her foot and when she went to the doctor he put it in an X-ray machine and forgot about her, destroying the tissue in four of her toes. Arlington informs Norma that he was struck by lightning, and can now communicate with "those who control the lightning." Norma begins to cry and Arlington takes her hand.
Norma is suddenly lying on her bed, with Arthur suspended above her in the same hovering water he stepped into earlier. Norma moves away just before Arthur falls out of the water. The water falls too, going all the way down their stairs. When cleaning up, Walter demands to know what is going on. Norma and Arthur do not answer him.
More drama occurs and eventually, at the wedding of Norma's sister, their son Walter is kidnapped. Arthur is taken away by a gun-toting former employee of NASA. He is the same man who shot his wife, as earlier seen in the 911 call. He reveals to Arthur that he had to choose between his wife or his daughter. He asks if it was him or Norma that pushed the button and he replies that his wife also pushed the button. He shows Arthur the book seen earlier in the picture, and the water portals or "triptychs." The book is some sort of manual. They are then stopped by a man in a Santa Claus uniform, ringing a bell. As the two men are trying to figure out what is going on, they are hit by a large truck.
We then see Arthur emerge from a NASA warehouse, which has been surrounded by military. He is taken away and told by his NASA friend that everything that happens next will have great ramifications. Arthur and Norma return home and see Arlington in their kitchen. He informs them they face two final options. Their son, Walter, is now deaf and blind. They can either live on with their million dollars, and their disabled son, or Arthur can shoot Norma through the heart, at which point Walter's sight and hearing will be restored and the million will be placed in a high interest bank account for Walter to be held in trust until his eighteenth birthday.
We learned earlier in a warehouse full of startled people, when Arlington's minion questioned him, that Arlington's employers are testing the human race to see if they are worth keeping.
Arlington leaves, telling Norma and Arthur on his way out that their son is in the bathroom, locked upstairs. The two of them run upstairs and try to get him out, but cannot because he cant hear them pounding on the door.
They decide that they must make a choice, and Norma leads Arthur downstairs.
Another couple is sitting at a table with a box unit, starring at it with content, wondering whether they should push it. Walter and Norma are crying and hugging each other, and say goodbye.
Walter shoots Norma, and the police arrive. He runs upstairs and sees his son is back to normal. It is implied that this process will go on and on.
Arlington arrives at the other couples house and hands them the million.
Arthur's NASA friend informs him he and his son will be taken care of, as Arthur is escorted away by men in uniforms, who put him into a black car before driving off. Arthur's son looks down at Arthur leaving in that black car. Arlington then comes out of the house of other couple to whom he had given the $1 million, and the film ends. (Source: imdb.com)
The White Nights were started in Paris in 2002 as a project to bring the city and contemporary creation closer to its inhabitants. In view of its popularity and success with the public, several other European cities joined the initiative, and thus the European White Nights project was born. The network currently includes the following cities: Paris, Brussels, Riga, Bucharest, La Valetta (Malta) and Madrid, which have now been joined by Amsterdam in this year’s edition.
The shared goals of all the cities organizing White Nights are: gratitude, avant-garde, citizenship and sustainability. Plus, the exchange of experiences is fostered with the development of joint projects and the internationalization of local artists through the exchange of propositions. Madrid began to celebrate its version of the White Nights, La noche en blanco, in 2006, and by now it is a beacon of success within the network because of its ability to get the public onboard from the first edition and its consolidation and growth in the ensuing years. (Source: lanocheenblanco2010.esmadrid.com)
The basic structure of the plot of Hamlet is remarkably simple; a wrong occurs and the hero seeks revenge to make it right. In the process, everyone is destroyed. Shakespeare develops the plot of his "revenge" tragedy in classical form. Act I is largely expository in nature, introducing the main characters and the conflict. Acts II, III, and IV contain the rising action of the plot as the conflict develops, largely in Hamlet's mind. Act V contains the climax, a short period of falling action, and the denouement, or conclusion, in which Fortinbras takes control of Denmark to bring order to the country once again.
The genre of "revenge tragedy" or "tragedy of blood" was immensely popular among English Elizabethan dramatists. In typical revenge tragedies, such as Hamlet, the plot arises largely out of a situation for which the hero is not responsible. Additionally, even though the hero may have a tragic flaw that contributes to his downfall, he is usually undone by circumstances over which he has no control. Accordingly in Hamlet, the crime that calls for vengeance has already been committed before the play begins. The real cause of the tragedy is the evil and intolerable situation surrounding Claudius' murder of Hamlet's father, the King. As Hamlet tries to find a way to avenge his father's death, murder, madness, and ghosts are all brought to the front of the stage, creating interest and tension in the audience.
The plot of the play is not complex. It progresses in a linear fashion, with all events happening in chronological order. There are a few flashbacks, as when Hamlet recounts the events that happened on the ship some time after they occurred, but they are easily followed and understood. The play-within-a-play even functions as a flashback as it reveals how Claudius has murdered the late King Hamlet. There are also many foreshadowings to indicate what will happen later in the play; for example, the stabbing of Polonius foreshadows the stabbing of Claudius and the victorious return of Fortinbras foreshadows his ascension to the Danish throne.
The climax of the plot is a masterfully written conclusion to a tense drama dominated by internal and external conflict. All of Act V is filled with dramatic irony, as many of the characters, as well as the audience, know that Laertes' sword is unscathed and bears a poison tip; also they are aware that the wine for Hamlet to drink has been poisoned by Claudius. Only Hamlet and his naïve mother seem to be unawa re of the tragedy that is to unfold. The entire scene is made more tense by the fact that Hamlet at first seems to winning the conflict -- making the first two strikes, remaining untouched by Laertes' foil, and refusing to drink the poisoned wine. In presenting a recovered Hamlet, now acting with determination and control, Shakespeare hints that tragedy may be avoided. Unfortunately, the tragic hero has procrastinated too long, and the rotten state of Denmark seems to have affected everyone. As a result all must die; Hamlet is stabbed by the poisoned sword, Laertes is killed by Hamlet, Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine and dies, and Claudius finally gets his just rewards when Hamlet drives the poisoned sword into his flesh and forces him to drink from the poisoned wine. Fortunately, Horatio is left behind to explain the villainy of Claudius and the innocence of Hamlet; additionally, a savior, in the person of Fortinbras, is left to restore order to the corrupt state of Denmark.
THEMES - THEME ANALYSIS
The Theme of Vengeance
The main theme in Hamlet is one of vengeance and family honor. Initially Fortinbras is the representation of vengeance. Hamlet's father, the late King, has defeated Fortinbras' father in battle. As a result, young Fortinbras aspires to recover the lands and power lost by his father as a way of honoring and avenging him. Though he eventually finds another means of vengeance, his example is duly felt. Hamlet does not act as quickly as Fortinbras; his own indecision and fear paralyze him. Eventually his revenge occurs, but at great cost to all. The irony is that Hamlet, by fulfilling his revenge, has destroyed the family whose honor he sought to avenge. His mother and he both perish, as well as the woman who would have willingly borne his children. Laertes is the third son to avenge a father, but he, too, causes great destruction. He allows his base emotions to rule him, and he becomes a cohort of the evil Claudius. Rather than approach vengeance as a task to be carried out in the most acceptable fashion, Hamlet and Laertes fix themselves on murder as the only means of revenge. Unfortunately, this decision ultimately destroys them both.
Appearance vs. Reality
Shakespeare also examines his favorite theme of the discrepancy between appearance and reality. The dilemma of what is "real" is established at the very beginning of the play. The dead King appears to have been bitten by a snake. In reality, he has been poisoned. The Ghost appears as an apparition from the depths of hell; in truth, he is the medium of reality, revealing the facts to Hamlet. Since Hamlet doubts the veracity of the Ghost's revelation, he decides to put on the appearance of being mad; in the process he really drives Ophelia mad, causing her death. At times it also seems that Hamlet's appearance of madness has become a reality. The duel scene also presents an appearance vs. reality. The duel appears to be an innocent competition between two rivals; in reality, it is a deadly match that causes the death of the four main characters. The most obvious, and perhaps the most clever, symbol of "Appearance vs. Reality" is the play-within-a-play. The actors, representing mythical figures, appear onstage and act out the events that have happened in reality. Hamlet carefully orchestrates this appearance so that he can gauge the degree of reality by Claudius' reaction. In summary, the theme of appearance vs. reality is so well developed that everything in the play must be questioned, for nothing appears certain.
A quid – Una libra A wet blanket – Un aguafiestas A hangover – Una resaca Better late than never – Más vale tarde que nunca Bless you! – ¡Jesús! (cuando alguien estornuda) Bon apetit. – Qué aproveche o Buen provecho By the way – A propósito By all means – No faltaría mas/Por supuesto Chat someone up – Ligar con alguien – Tirar los tejos Cheer up! – ¡Anímate! Cheers! – ¡Salud! Cross your fingers. – Cruzar los dedos Get the sack – Ser despedido Help yourself – Sírvete How come ? - ¿Cómo es eso? ¿Por qué? Hurry up – ¡Date prisa! I must be off – Tengo que irme I haven’t got a clue – No tengo ni idea If only – Ojalá It serves you right – Lo mereces It rings a bell – Me suena It’s up to you – Tú eliges Keep the change – Quédate con el cambio Keep your hair on! – ¡Cálmate! I misjudged you: you let me down on the first try – Salir rana Leave me alone – Déjame en paz Let the cat out of the bag – Revelar un secreto Let’s have one for the road – Tomamos la penúltima Make yourself at home – Siéntete como en tu casa o como Pedro por su casa No wonder – No me extraña Pissed as a newt- Borracho como una cuba Pull the other one – ¡Anda ya! Really! – ¡De verdad! Same here – Yotambién Say when – Dime cuánto (para comida o bebidas) Talk of the devil – Hablando del rey de Roma Ten bob – 50 peniques To pay cash – Pagar en efectivo To my mind – En mi opinión Touch wood. – Tocando madera Watch out! – ¡Ten cuidado! Were you born in a field/barn? – Cierra la puerta What a rip off – ¡Qué timo! What a mess! – ¡Qué lío! What a cheek! – ¡Qué cara! You’re pulling my leg. – Me estás tomando el pelo You’re welcome – De nada (después de decir gracias) You’re kidding – Estás de broma
Learn the language of the street - what people say and the topics they like to talk about.
GOING OUT FOR A DRINK
Let's go for a drink! / Let's go down the pub! / Let's go out for a few bevvies. / a few jars. - Let's go to my local public house - the pub - for some drinks.
We're going to paint the town red. / We're going to go on a bar crawl. - We're going to several pubs or bars.
I'll get the booze!-I'll buy the beer!
A glass of bubbly - A glass of champagne or sparkling wine.
That wine is corked! It tastes like vinegar. - The wine is bad.
A chaser - A measure of a spirit such as whisky or rum which you drink with beer.
A double - 2 measures of spirits. A single measure is usually 1/5 of a gill - 25 ml.
A drop of the hard stuff - Some spirits rather than beer or wine.
A soft drink - A non alcoholic drink.
At the bar
It´s my round. What will it be? - I'm buying the drinks - what would you like?
Mine's a pint! - Atraditional measure of beer, equal to 0.57 litre.
A spritzer - wine mixed with soda water. A Red Bull and vodka / A gin and tonic / Rum and cola - Some spirits and their mixers.
Happy hour - A time at the beginning of the evening when some bars sell drinks for half price.
Too much!
I'm over the limit, so let's get a cab. - I'm over the legal limit for being allowed to drive so we should get a taxi.
I've been partying all weekend! - I've been out socialising the whole weekend!
I've got a really bad hangover - I'm feeling bad this morning [after drinking too much the night before].
He got really smashed last night! He was well under the influence!These are ways of describing that you had a great time, drank too much and maybe don't feel your best right now.
Going out
Fancy going for something to eat?
What about going to that new Russell Crowe film?
Let's go and do some theatre. Medea has had some great reviews.
I fancy seeing that new Italian exhibition.
Bring a bottle - If you're asked to dinner it's polite to take with you a bottle of wine.
Staying in
I'm going to stay in and veg - I'm going to stay at home and do nothing [vegetate]
Jack's such a couch potato - Jack loves to spend his life sitting on the sofa.
I'm going to go back to mine and chill - I'm going home to seriously relax.
Let's get a takeaway - Food you order from a restaurant to eat at home, usually a curry or Chinese food.
Best film (Mejor película) : Celda 211 de Javier Fesser Best Director (Mejor director) : Daniel Monzón por Celda 211 Best Leading Actor (Mejor interpretación masculina protagonista) : Luis Tosar por Celda 211 Best Leading Actress (Mejor interpretación femenina protagonista) : Lola Dueñas por Yo,también Best Original Screenplay (Mejor guión original) : Mateo Gil, Alejandro Amenábar por Agora Best Adapted Screenplay (Mejor guión adaptado) : Daniel Monzón, Jorge Gerricaechevarría Celda 211
Best New Director (Mejor director novel) : Mar Coll por Tres días con la familia Best Supporting Actor (Mejor interpretación masculina de reparto) : Raúl Arévalo por Gordos Best Supporting Actress (Mejor interpretación femenina de reparto) : Marta Etura por Celda 211 Best New Actor (Mejor actor revelación) : Alberto Ammann por Celda 211 Best New Actress (Mejor actriz revelación) : Soledad Villamil por El secreto de sus ojos Best Production Supervision (Mejor dirección de producción) : José Luis Escolar por Agora Best Cinematography (Mejor fotografía) : Xavi Giménez por Agora Best Editing (Mejor montaje) : Mapa Pastor por Celda 211 Best Original Score (Mejor música original) : Alberto Iglesias por Los abrazos rotos Best Original Song (Mejor canción original) : Yo también por Yo, también Best Art Direction (Mejor dirección artística) : Guy Hendrix Dyas por Agora Costume Design (Mejor diseño de vestuario) : Gabriella Pescucci por Agora Best Makeup and Hairstyles (Mejor maquillaje y peluquería) : Jan Sewell, Suzanne Stokes-Munton por Agora Best Sound (Mejor sonido) : Sergio Burmann, Jaime Fernández, Carlos Faruolo por Celda 211 Best Special Effects (Mejores effectos especiales) : Chris Reynolds, Félix Bergés por Agora Best Animated Film (Mejor película de animación) : Planet 51 de Antena 3 Films, S.L., Chuck & Lem, S.L., HandMade Films Limited, Ilion Studios, S.L. Best Animated Short Film (Mejor cortometraje de animación) : La Dama y la Muerte de Javier Recio Gracia Best Documentary Short Film (Mejor cortometraje documental) : Flores de Ruanda de David Muñoz López Best Fictional Short Film (Mejor cortometraje de ficción) : Dime que yo de Mateo Gil Best European Film (Mejor película europea) : Slumdog Millonaire de Danny Boyle (Reino Unido) Best Documentary (Mejor película documental) : Bucarest, la memoria perdida de Albert Solé Best Foreign Film in the Spanish Language (Mejor película extranjera de habla hispana) : El secreto de sus ojos de Juan José Campanella (Argentina) Honorary Goya Award (Goya de Honor) : Antonio Mercero
On a hot morning fighting by young servants of the Capulet and Montague families is stopped by the Prince who tells them that the next person who breaks the peace will be punished with death.
Capulet plans a feast to introduce his daughter, Juliet, who is almost fourteen, to the Count Paris who would like to marry her. By a mistake of the illiterate servant Peter, Montague's son, Romeo, and his friends Benvolio and the Prince's cousin Mercutio, hear of the party and decide to go in disguise. Romeo hopes he will see his adored Rosaline but instead he meets and falls in love with Juliet.
Juliet's cousin Tybalt recognises the Montagues and they are forced to leave the party just as Romeo and Juliet have each discovered the other's identity. Romeo lingers near the Capulet's house and talks to Juliet when she appears on her balcony. With the help of Juliet's Nurse the lovers arrange to meet next day at the cell of Friar Lawrence when Juliet goes for confession, and they are married by him.
Tybalt picks a quarrel with Mercutio and his friends and Mercutio is accidentally killed as Romeo intervenes to try to break up the fight. Romeo pursues Tybalt in anger, kills him and is banished by the Prince for the deed. Juliet is anxious that Romeo is late meeting her and learns of the fighting from her Nurse. With Friar Lawrence's help it is arranged that Romeo will spend the night with Juliet before taking refuge at Mantua.
To calm the family's sorrow at Tybalt's death the day for the marriage of Juliet to Paris is brought forward. Capulet and his wife are angry that Juliet does not wish to marry Paris, not knowing of her secret contract with Romeo.
Friar Lawrence helps Juliet by providing a sleeping draught that will make everyone think she's dead. Romeo will then come to her tomb and take her away. When the wedding party arrives to greet Juliet next day they think she is dead. The Friar sends a colleague to warn Romeo to come to the Capulet's family monument to rescue his sleeping wife but the message doesn't get through and Romeo, hearing instead that Juliet is dead, buys poison in Mantua.
He returns to Verona and goes to the tomb where he surprises and kills the mourning Paris. Romeo takes the poison and dies just as Juliet awakes from her drugged sleep. She learns what has happened from Friar Lawrence but she refuses to leave the tomb and stabs herself as the Friar returns with the Prince, the Capulets and Romeo's father. The deaths of their children lead the families to make peace, promising to erect a monument in their memory.
(Source: www.nosweatshakespeare.com)
viernes, 15 de enero de 2010
AVATAR Sypnosis: In 2154, the RDA corporation is mining Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon of the planet Polyphemus. Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi) heads the mining operation, and it employs former marines for security. The corporation intends to exploit Pandora's reserves of a valuable mineral called unobtanium. Pandora is inhabited by the Na’vi, a blue-skinned species of sapient humanoids with feline characteristics. Physically stronger and taller than humans, the Na'vi live in harmony with Nature, worshiping a mother goddess called Eywa.
Humans cannot survive exposure to Pandora’s atmosphere for very long and use oxygen masks. In an attempt to improve relations with the natives, scientists create human-Na’vi hybrids called avatars, controlled by genetically-matched human operators. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, becomes a last-minute replacement for his murdered identical twin brother, a scientist trained to be an avatar operator. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), the head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement for his brother, and relegates him to a bodyguard role.
Jake escorts Augustine and biologist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) on an exploratory mission in their avatar forms to make contact with the Na'vi, in order to help establish diplomatic relations, solve the problem of resources and end the threat of violence. The group is attacked by a predator, and Jake becomes separated and lost. Forced to survive the night in Pandora’s dangerous jungles, he is rescued by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi. Neytiri brings Jake to Hometree, which is inhabited by Neytiri’s clan, the Omaticaya. Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder), the Na'vi shaman and Neytiri's mother, shows interest in the warrior "Dream-walker" (their term for the Avatars), and instructs her daughter to teach Jake their ways. Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), leader of the security forces for RDA, promises Jake his "real legs" in exchange for intelligence about the natives and what it will take for them to abandon Hometree, which rests above a large deposit of unobtanium.
Over three months, Jake grows close to Neytiri and the Omaticaya and begins preferring their lifestyle, eroding his loyalty toward RDA's agenda. He is initiated into the Omaticaya, and he and Neytiri choose each other as mates. Jake's change of loyalty is revealed when he disables a bulldozer's cameras as it destroys the tribe's "Tree of Voices". Col. Quaritch disconnects Jake from his avatar and presents Selfridge and Augustine with a vlog in which Jake admits that his mission is fruitless; the Omaticaya will never abandon Hometree. Selfridge is convinced that negotiations will fail and orders Hometree's destruction.
Augustine argues that the destruction of Hometree could affect the vast bio-botanical neural network that all Pandoran organisms are connected to, and Selfridge gives Jake and Augustine one hour to convince the Na’vi to leave Hometree. When he reveals his mission to the Omaticaya, Neytiri accuses him of betraying them, resulting in Jake and Augustine's imprisonment. Quaritch’s forces destroy Hometree, killing Eytucan (Wes Studi), Neytiri's father and clan chief, and many others. Jake and Augustine are disconnected from their avatars and detained for treason along with Norm. Trudy Chacón (Michelle Rodriguez), a security force pilot who is disgusted by the violence, breaks them out. During their escape Quaritch shoots Augustine. With Augustine dying, Jake turns to the Omaticaya for help. To regain their trust he tames the Toruk, a powerful flying beast that only five Na'vi have ever tamed. Jake flies to the Omaticaya, who have gathered at the sacred Tree of Souls, and pleads with Mo'at to heal Augustine. They attempt to transplant her "soul" into her avatar, but her injuries are too severe and she dies before the ritual can be completed.
With the assistance of Neytiri and Tsu'Tey (Laz Alonso), the new leader of the Omaticaya, Jake assembles thousands of Na'vi from other clans. Jake prays to Eywa to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi in the coming battle. Quaritch, noting the mobilization of Na'vi clans, convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike on the Tree of Souls. Because it is a center of Na'vi religion and culture, its destruction would leave the Na'vi too demoralized to resist further human encroachment.
As the corporation's army attacks, the Na'vi retaliate but suffer heavy casualties, among them Tsu'Tey and Trudy. When the Na'vi are on the verge of defeat, the Pandoran wildlife suddenly attacks the corporation's forces, overwhelming them. Neytiri interprets this as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys the main bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Col. Quaritch escapes and finds the avatar interface pod where Jake's human body is located and attacks it, exposing Jake to Pandora's atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and saves Jake. With the attack repelled, Neytiri and Jake reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.
Selfridge and the military personnel are expelled from Pandora, while Jake, Norm, and the scientists studying Pandora are allowed to remain. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The film ends with Jake's consciousness being transplanted into his Na'vi avatar permanently by the Tree of Souls.
Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen LangDirector: James CameronRated: PG-13 Genre: science fiction epic film Producer: James Cameron, Jon LandauDistributor: 20th Century Fox
