CHRISTMAS CLIP

Clip of The Day

Lest We Forget

On Christmas Eve, 1914 during World War I, german soldiers set trees on trenches parapets and lit the candles. Then, they began singing carols, and though their language was unfamiliar to their enemies, the tunes were not. After a few trees were shot at, the British became more curious than belligerent and crawled forward to watch and listen. And after a while, they began to sing too. By the morning, the "no man's land" between the trenches was filled with fraternizing soldiers, sharing rations and gifts, and singing. After burying their dead bodies between the lines they were playng soccer. The game ended 3-2 for the Germans. Enjoy the clip below. Merry Xmas to you all. HC

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From Wikipedia

December 25th - Traditional Birthday of Jesus

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday observed generally on December 25/6 to commemorate the birth of Jesus, the central figure of Christianity. The date is not known to be the actual birthday of Jesus, and may have initially been chosen to correspond with either the day exactly nine months after some early Christians believed Jesus had been conceived, the date of the winter solstice on the ancient Roman calendar, or one of various ancient winter festivals. Christmas is central to the Christmas and holiday season, and in Christianity marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days.

Although nominally a Christian holiday, Christmas is also widely celebrated by many non-Christians, and many of its popular celebratory customs have pre-Christian or secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, music, an exchange of greeting cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various decorations; including Christmas trees, lights, garlands, mistletoe, nativity scenes, and holly. In addition, several similar mythological figures, known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas and Santa Claus among other names, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season.

Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

I never think of the future. It comes soon enough. Albert Einstein

TIPS OF THE DAY

PREPOSITIONS

BEFORE – Antes de. Perante. Diante. Ante. Indica posição em frente a um objeto.
Indica também prioridade, precedência em classe, ordem ou sucessão.
e.g.: - I shall be there before 6 o’clock.
The holiday season starts a fortnight before May 1st.
You must mail this letter before that package.

“I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father before mine uncle”. (Hamlet, Act II. Scene II.)
BEHIND – Atrás. Indica a posição do objeto atrás do outro ou seguindo um outro.
Indica que um objeto fica após a remoção de um outro.
e.g.: - He died leaving a glorious name behind him.
I keep leaving my umbrella behind me.

BELOW - Abaixo de. Indica inferioridade de classe, de dignidade etc.
e.g.: - When the Sun sets it goes below the horizon.
An Earl is below a Marquis in rank.
Should I sign my name below the dotted line ?
The city of Recife, people say, is below the sea level

FAQ about Santa and Xmas

Q: If Santa doesn't have to age, then why has he become old?
A: He only appears to be old. He's an undercover kid.

Q: Why do we wish people a "Merry Christmas" instead of a "Happy Christmas"?
A: The two are about the same, but with "Merry Christmas" an extra twinkle is seen in the eyes.

Q: Why is a Christmas tree that has been chopped down called a "live Christmas tree?"
A: It's dead but doesn't know it, and yet it's having the time of its life.

Q: Why do we wrap our Christmas gifts with paper?
A: Because we like to see surprise and joy (real or kindly faked) in the recipients.

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

Looks Can Be Deceptive

A 54 year old woman had a heart attack and was taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she had a near death experience. Seeing God she asked:

- “Is my time up?” God said,

- “No, you have another 33 years, 2 months and 8 days to live.”

Upon recovery, the woman decided to stay in the hospital and have a face-lift, liposuction, breast implants and a tummy tuck.She even had someone come in and change her hair color and brighten her teeth! Since she had so much more time to live, she figured she might as well make the most of it.

After her last operation, she was released from the hospital. While crossing the street on her way home, she was killed by an ambulance.

Arriving in front of God, she demanded,

- “I thought you said I had another 33 years? Why didn’t you pull me from out of the path of the ambulance? God replied:

- “Shit! I didn’t recognize you.”

Good For Nothing

In the White House, there are 13,092 knives, forks and spoons!

WORDS OF WISDOM

"Well done is better than well said."
Benjamin Franklin

RULES OF THUMB

Idioms using the word "Eat"

Eat like a bird = to eat very little
Eat like a horse = to eat a lot of food and to eat often
Eat your heart = to suffer from jealousy and envy
Eat your words = to take back your words; to apologize for something that you said
Eat out of your hand = to have someone do exactly as you wish
Eat at you = something that irritates or bothers you

Word of The Day

Bush-League

Function: adjective

Status: US, informal



Meaning:

Of very low quality

e.g.: Bush-League customer service
A bush-league (unprofessional) reporter

Clip of The Day

'...REMEMBER???

ARSENIC-BASED BACTERIA POINT TO NEW LIFE FORMS

Breno Grisi

We could be witnessing the first signs of a "shadow biosphere" – a parallel form of life on Earth with a different biochemistry to all others. Bacteria that grow without phosphorous, one of the six chemical elements thought to be essential for life, have been isolated from California's Mono Lake. Instead of phosphorous, the bacteria substitute the deadly poison arsenic. "Life as we know it could be much more flexible than we generally assume or can imagine," says Felisa Wolfe-Simon of NASA's Astrobiology Institute and the US Geological Survey in Menlo Park, California.

Wolfe-Simon's team took mud containing bacteria from the arsenic-rich Mono Lake and grew them in ever decreasing concentrations of phosphorous. Their rationale was that since arsenic is just below phosphorous in the periodic table, and shares many of its chemical properties and is even used as a source of energy for some bacteria, the bugs would be able to swap one for the other. That is just what happened.

"After one year, they are still alive and well," says Paul Davies of Arizona State University in Tempe. Not only that, the team showed that this ability was incorporated deep into the molecular building-blocks of the bacterium, strain GFAJ-1 of the salt-loving Halomonadaceae family, right down to the DNA.
"It's the first time such a chemical substitution has been shown for DNA," says Philippe Bertin of the University of Strasbourg, France, who was not part of the team. "Possibly, it's a relic of an ancestral metabolism that was supplanted during evolution because using phosphorus was more stable and less toxic."

Despite surviving on arsenic for a year, the bacteria would still "prefer" to grow using phosphorous: biomolecules react more efficiently in water and seem to be more stable when constructed with phosphorous than arsenic. They only substitute arsenic if there is no alternative.

Steven Benner, a chemist from the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution in Gainesville, Florida, who works on alternative forms of DNA, is sceptical that the bacteria really do contain arsenic. "I doubt these results," he says, since in order to measure the modified DNA it has to be put into a water-containing gel, which would rapidly dissolve any arsenate molecules. Any hypothesis that arsenate might replace phosphate in biomolecules must take this into account, he says.

Shadow biosphere. Davies says that future work will address the stability-in-water issue, but argues that the discovery underlines the need to look further for the first true representatives of alternate life forms in Earth's shadow biosphere.

Breno Grisi
Professor (retired) of Ecology, at UFPB, Federal University of Paraíba - Brazil, currently teaching courses in ecology at private universities

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

Mistakes In Life

A woman awoke during the night to find that her husband was not in bed. She put on her robe and went downstairs. He was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of him. He appeared to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall.

She saw him wipe a tear from his eye and take a sip of his coffee.

- "What's the matter dear? Why are you down here at this time of night?" she asked.

- "Do you remember twenty years ago when we were dating and you were only 16?" he asked.

- "Yes, I do," she replied.

- "Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car?"

- "Yes, I remember."

- "Do you remember when he shoved that shotgun in my face and said, 'Either you marry my daughter or spend twenty years in jail'?"

- "Yes, I do," she said.

He wiped another tear from his cheek and said,

- "You know, I would have gotten out today. "

GOOD FOR NOTHING INFORMATION

CLINOPHOBIA IS THE FEAR OF BEDS

Tell Me Why...

"Are there 5 syllables in the word "monosyllabic"?

WORDS OF WISDOM

“I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” Winston Churchill

RULES OF THUMB

Idioms

To look up to – To admire and respect
To look down on – To act as if someone is less important than you
To treat someone as an equal – To act as if someone is the same as you

Word of the Day

Elated

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more elated; most elated

Meaning: very happy and excited
e.g.: She was elated at/about/over the news. She was elated to be chosen for the job. She was elated that she was chosen for the job.

Clip of The Day

Captain Bravo

Long ago lived a seaman named Captain Bravo. He was a manly man who showed no fear in facing his enemies. One day, while sailing the seven seas, a look-out spotted a pirate ship and the crew became frantic. Captain Bravo bellowed,

- “Bring me my Red Shirt.”

The First Mate quickly retrieved the captain’s red shirt and whilst wearing the bright red frock he led his men into battle and defeated the pirates.

Later on that day, the look-out spotted not one, but two pirate ships. The captain again called for his red shirt and once again, though the fighting was fierce, he was victorious over the two ships. That evening, all the men sat around on the deck recounting the day’s triumphs and one of the them asked the captain,

- “Sir, why do you call for your red shirt before battle?” The captain replied,

- “If I am wounded in the attack, the shirt will not show my blood and thus, you men will continue to fight, unafraid.”

All of the men sat in silence and marveled at the courage of such a manly man as Captain Bravo. As dawn came the next morning, the look-out spotted not one, not two, but TEN pirates ships approaching from the far horizon. The crew stared at the captain and waited for his usual reply.

Captain Bravo calmly shouted,

- “Get me my brown pants.”

Odd News

Grandma Patty Bigbee

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A Florida woman and her boyfriend have been charged with trying to sell her infant grandson for $30,000.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents arrested 45-year-old Patty Bigbee and 42-year-old Lawrence Works on Friday in Daytona Beach after they met with an agent posing as a buyer. Both were charged with illegal sale or surrender of a child, and Bigbee was also charged with communication fraud.

FDLE agent Wayne Ivey said an investigation began last month after an informant told authorities the woman was trying to sell the baby. Authorities say the woman originally wanted $75,000 but was talked down to $30,000.

The child's mother is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges.

The infant has been turned over to child welfare officials.

Authorities said they didn't know if Bigbee or Works had an attorney.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“BETTER TO REMAIN SILENT AND BE THOUGHT A FOOL THAN TO SPEAK OUT AND REMOVE ALL DOUBT”.
Abraham Lincoln.

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

5 Bucks

A man is walking around New York with his wife. They find a perfume shop, the wife goes in, and he waits outside. A hooker comes along and says to him...

- "Like to come home with me, buddy?"
- "For how much?", asks the man.
- "One hundred dollars," the hooker answers.
- "I’ll give you five bucks," he replies.

The hooker swears at him and walks away. A little later, the man’s wife comes out of the shop and they continue their walk. As they round the corner, there stands the same hooker. She takes one look at the man and his wife and says,

- “AHA! See what you get for five bucks?”


Father & SonA young Arab asks his father:

- What is this weird head gear we are wearing?

- Why, it’s a “chechia” because in the desert it protects our heads from the sun!

- And what is this type of clothes that we are wearing?

- It’s a “djbellah” because in the desert it is very hot and it protects your body!

- And what are these ugly shoes that we have on our feet?

- These are “babouches”, which keep us from burning our feet when in the desert!

- Tell me papa?

- Yes my son?

- "Then, why the f**k are we living in London…?"

Word of The Day

Give–And–Take

Function: noun (noncount)

Meanings:
1 - The process by which people reach an agreement with each other by giving up something that was wanted and agreeing to some of the things wanted by the other person

e.g.: A successful marriage requires a lot of give-and-take between husband and wife.

2- US: The act or process of exchanging ideas or comments

e.g.: She enjoys a lot of friendly give-and-take with her customers.

QUOTATION OF THE DAY

"A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don't need it." Bob Hope, Actor, Comedian and Author.

RULES OF THUMB

The thumb is the short, thick finger on your hand, the one that helps you hold things.

Thumb Nouns
The noun “thumb” is used in a lot of expressions:
To give someone the thumbs up/down,
to give someone approval/disapproval)

Thumb Verbs

Thumb is also used as a verb.
To thumb a ride (informal) to hitchhike; to try to get a ride by standing on the road sticking out your thumb.

Thumb Idioms
Here are some idioms with thumb. Can you guess their idiomatic meanings by thinking about their literal meanings?

To stick out like a sore thumb:
Betty sticks out like a sore thumb in that yellow dress. Everyone else is wearing blue. In other words, Betty looks very different from everyone else; she looks a little foolish.

A green thumb:
He has a green thumb. He is good at making plants grow. Everything in his garden flourishes.

A Rule of Thumb: (a practical rule) “You should pay your best attention to the Tips of Grammar as well as The Rules of Thumb listed in every issue of this BULLETIN. HC

Clip of The Day

"Harry and Sally"... is a 1989 American romantic comedy film written by Nora Ephron and directed by Rob Reiner. It stars Billy Crystal as Harry and Meg Ryan as Sally. The story follows the title characters from the time they meet just before sharing a cross-country drive, through some twelve years or so of chance encounters in New York City. The film raises the question "Can men and women ever just be friends?"

The whole story starts when Sally gives him a ride to New York after they both graduate from University. The film jumps through their lives as they both search for love, but fail, bumping into each other time and time again. Finally a close friendship blooms between them, and they both like having a friend of the opposite sex. But then they are confronted with the problem: "Would it be possible for a man and a woman be friends, without sex getting in the way?"

Curiosity: The lady who says "I'll have what she's having" after Sally's faked orgasm is director Rob Reiner's mother who happened to be visiting the set that day.

The orgasm scene was filmed at Katz's Deli, an actual restaurant in New York. The table at which the scene was filmed now has a plaque on it that reads, "Congratulations! You're sitting where Harry met Sally." HC

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

MUD PIES

A man pleaded with the psychiatrist, "You've got to help me.
It's my son."
"What's the matter?"
"He's always eating mud pies. I get up in the morning and
there he is in the backyard eating mud pies. I come home at
lunch and he's eating mud pies. I come home at dinner and
there he is in the backyard eating mud pies."
The psychiatrist reassured him, "Give the kid a chance. It's
all part of growing up. It'll pass."
"Well, I don't like it, and neither does his wife."


Magic Elevators
A fifteen year old Amish boy and his father were in a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and then slide back together again.

The boy asked, 'What is this Father?'

The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, 'Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is.'

While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened, and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed, and the boy and his father watched the small numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number, and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order. Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24-year-old blond stepped out. The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son.....

'Go get your Mother'

GFN INFORMATION

No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times if it is being folded in half for each of the 7 folds!

Odd News

Police: Man tossed oranges at planes
Published: Nov. 10, 2010 at 3:56 PM

MESA, Ariz., Nov. 10 (UPI) Police in Arizona said they arrested a man who was caught throwing oranges at airplanes and sniffing spray paint near an airport.

Investigators said they responded to a call at the Falcon Field municipal airport in Mesa and found Brian Henio, 33, in a neighboring orange grove throwing fruit at the planes, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, reported Wednesday.

Police said Henio had paint on his upper lip and they recognized the smell of spray paint.

The suspect, who was described by police as "extremely jittery," told officers he knew he was trespassing and wanted to go to New Mexico, the arrest report said.

Henio, who allegedly tried to resist being handcuffed, was arrested and charged with possession of a vapor releasing substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and trespassing. He was taken to the Mesa City Jail.

WORDS OF WISDOM

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress. President Ronald Reagan

Word of The Day

OBNOXIOUS

Function: adjective

Comparative and superlative forms: more obnoxious; most obnoxious

Meaning: Unpleasant in a way that makes people feel offended, annoyed, or disgusted

e.g. He said some really obnoxious things about his ex-girlfriend at the party. Some teenagers were being loud and obnoxious. An obnoxious smell.


Derived forms:
Obnoxiously: Adverb
e.g. Obnoxiously loud music.

Clip of The Day

"PANDORA AND THE FLYING DUTCHMAN" (1951) is Albert Lewin's interpretation of the legend of the Flying Dutchman. The film stars: James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick and others. Ava Gardner became one of Hollywood's leading actresses, considered one of the most beautiful women of her day.

"In a little spanish seaport named Esperanza, during the 30s, appears Hendrick van der Zee, the mysterious captain of a yacht (he is the only one aboard). Pandora is a beautiful woman (who men kill and die for). She's never really fallen in love with any man, but she feels very attracted by Hendrick... We are soon taught that Hendrick is the Flying Dutchman, this sailor of the 17th century that has been cursed by God to wander over the seas until the Doomsday... unless a woman is ready to die for him..."

Famous last words

"The ladies have to go first. Goodbye, dearie. I'll see you later". John Jacob Astor

Astor and his wife were traveling on the Titanic when it struck an iceberg and began to sink. As Astor prepared to enter a lifeboat with his wife, a group of female passengers appeared on deck. He gave up his seat and spoke his final words to his wife; he was later found floating in the ocean, drowned.

Quote of the Day

"Broadly speaking, the short words are the best, and the old words best of all". Winston Churchill

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

Clever Judge. But You Still Can't Beat The Lawyer

A lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defense:

- “My client merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few trifling articles. His arm is not himself, and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed by his limb.”

- “Well put,” the judge replied. “Using your logic, I sentence the defendant’s arm to one year’s imprisonment. He can accompany it or not, as he chooses.”

The defendant smiled. With his lawyer’s assistance he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out.

RULES OF THUMB

Now, let's look at the adjective ending - less.

When we add - less to a word, it means "without".

"shiftless" - without shifting, without moving, usually means "lazy", "faceless" - without a face.

What do you think "sleepless" means? How about "friendless" "homeless?"


Let's have fun with "less"

Fill in the blanks with a word from the list.

painless
sleepless
topless

1. I've had three _______ nights in a row. I guess I need some sleeping pills.

2. It is illegal for a woman to be _________ on most beaches.

3. Don't worry. The operation will be _________ .
We'll give you anesthesia.

Word of The Day

Naturally

Adverb

Meanings:

Naturally is used to describe something that happens or exists by itself without being controlled or changed by someone.

e.g. Her hair curls naturally.

A naturally sweet tea.
A number of important vitamins are found naturally in dark green vegetables like spinach.
Pearls are produced naturally by oysters.
He is naturally blond.
Their friendship developed naturally over time.

Naturally is also used to say that something is expected or normal.

e.g. Naturally, some mistakes were made.

When he heard the comment, he was naturally (of course) a little offended.
Naturally you’ll want rooms for the night.
“Did you visit her while you were there?” “Naturally.” (of course; yes)

Because of a quality or skill that a person or animal is born with

e.g. She’s naturally competitive.
He’s naturally able to make people feel comfortable.
Cats are said to be naturally curious.

In a way that is relaxed and normal

e.g. It’s hard to speak/act naturally when you’re nervous.

In a way that makes sense : in a logical and reasonable way

e.g. Her conclusions follow naturally from the theory.
Questions about the journalist’s sources arise naturally from such a controversial report.
When I saw that there were no lights on in the house, I naturally assumed you were asleep.

Idiom: Come Naturally
Meaning: If something comes naturally to you, you are able to do or learn it easily.

e.g. Musical talent comes naturally to that family.
Memorizing important dates in history came naturally to him (was easy for him) in school.

BRAZIL'S PURGATORY ABOUT TO BEGIN

A friend of mine sent me the text below. It talks about politics in Brazil. The message said that it was published in Canada. Next Sunday the runoff will decide the presidency of the country but the essential question is: "If President Da Silva, in fact, wanted to elect a woman of humble origins as he was, why wouldn't he choose Marina Silva?" Why then a woman from a bourgeois Bulgarian family, authoritarian, a former guerilla, hated by many party members, confused, very ill, without proper discourse and with no electoral experience? HC

It's worth a reading.

"The sad fact about the next election in Brazil is that it will not be decided based on principles or values. Nobody cares if Dilma Roussef murdered or robbed. It is just populism in the cruelest form. She is Lula’s lady. Poor people have benefited a little from the end of inflation, and they forgot that this situation was inherited by Lula.

What is interesting is that the Worker’s Party is neither Communist nor the helper of workers. IBGE, the main statistical institution in Brazil , has just released the information that illiteracy in Brazil increased during Lula’s reign. Basic sanitation is in the same level as it was at the time of his coronation. 50,000 Brazilians die of violent deaths, most caused by guns and drugs smuggled into the country by the FARC Marxist terrorists, allies of Lula. Who cares? I have a cell phone and tv set. The next World Cup will be in Rio .

On the other hand, the Federal Development Bank (BNDS) has received this year US$ 100 BI to lend to large corporations, in order to “buy” their good will towards the government during the election year. The capitalists get the money for 3,5% to 7%, while the government pays 10% to 12% for the banks. Itaú bank had the largest profit of any bank in the Americas , including the ones in the US .

Other acts of largesse of the government include the distribution of TV and radio licenses to capitalists and politicians, a TV network for the union leaders (who take one day of salary from the workers and can’t be audited – Lula forbid it) and the definition of the targets of investment of the pension funds from state companies, in the order of hundreds of billions of dollars. They can make you or break you.

FASCISM

This is a fascist economy, in its purest definition. Mussolini would be proud.

It is hard for the common folk to understand how Communism has changed from a social utopia to this raw fascism. The reason is that they retain the old veneer in cultural causes, such as free abortion, gay marriage, globalism, ecological radicalism, etc. Just like in China , they tell you how to live your private life.

Censorship or “media control” is in Dilma’s agenda, as it is in full course in Argentina and Venezuela today. The fiscal privacy of Dilma’s opponents has been broken with no consequences. Basic constitutional rights are worth nothing to the Worker’s party, and they are challenging property rights. A bunch of communist peasants, all funded and led by professional agitators, will invade farms, kill people (as they do now) and the issue will be decided by popular acclamation, in a commune.

We are being prepared to be pawns of the world government.

I predict rough times ahead for Brazil . Dilma is incompetent and stubborn. Brazil ‘s public debt has almost tripled and is about to explode, due to to the high interest rates. The boom in the exportation of minerals and agro-commodities that gave Lula’s popularity such boost can end anytime, especially if a heavy crisis hits the dollar. The taxation level in Brazil is one of the highest in the world, at 40,5% and bureaucracy, with 85 different taxes in the last count, is astronomical. They won’t be able to raise tax anymore to support the do-nothings employed in the government and the corruption.

When the government crashes, the social aids that supported Lula’s popularity will be at risk. Without the booming exports, there will be fewer jobs, and it is possible that we see riots and protests. Things have always been too easy in this country, where food grows even in a crack in the sidewalk. Perhaps it is time for Brazilians to mature from suffering.

PS: Dilma’s father was a Bulgarian. He fled his country because he was a communist activist. Surprisingly, in Brazil he was a capitalist and very rich. Dilma had a very bourgeois life, living in a large house and studying at private schools. It is always good to belong to the Communist elite."

Clip of The Day

"You Make Me Feel So Young" is a 1946 popular song composed by Josef Myrow, with lyrics written by Mack Gordon. I think that any comments should result absolutely unnecessary! Relax, see the clip and enjoy this great performance by "The Voice". HC.

LYRICS

You make me feel so young.
You make me feel like "Spring Sprung",
Every time I see you grin
I'm such a happy individual.
The moment that you speak
I wanna run play hide-and-seek.
I wanna go and bounce the moon
Just like a big balloon.
You and I we are just like a couple of tots
Runnin' along the meadow
snatching up all those forget-me-nots.
You make me feel so young.
You make me feel there are songs to be sung,
Bells to be rung, and a wonderful fling to be sprung,
And even when I'm old and gray
I'm gonna feel the way I do today
'Cause you make me feel so young.

Famous last words

"Waiting, are they? Waiting, are they? Well, let 'em wait"!

Who: Ethan Allen.

Note: Stated after Allen was shot and a doctor told him,

"General, I fear that the angels are waiting for you."

Quote of the Day

"My books are water, those of the great geniuses are wine, everybody drinks water". Mark Twain

And Some Still Complain About President Obama!

This is the often drunk Brazilian president making some goofy gestures and pissing in his own pants. (in the circle)

The lady seating next to him, a former guerilla, is his protégée candidate for this year election, she seems embarrassed.

This is the man who wants to be the UN secretary-general and broker nuclear agreement and other deals with Iran. HC.

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

No joke as Brazil clown tops votes for Congress

A Brazilian clown has had the last laugh by winning a seat in Congress with more votes than any other candidate in Sunday's elections.

Tiririca, or Francisco Oliveira Silva to give him his real name, was elected as a federal deputy for Sao Paulo with more than 1.3 million votes.

Tiririca, or "Grumpy", had slogans such as: "It can't get any worse. "Tiririca won 1,353,355 votes - well ahead of the next best-supported politician, former Rio state governor Antony Garotinho, who took more than 694,000 votes to be elected a federal deputy for the state.

"What does a federal deputy do? Truly, I don't know. But vote for me and I will find out for you," was one of his messages.

Tiririca started working in a circus at the age of eight in the impoverished north-eastern state of Ceara, and is now a TV comedian. He was one of dozens of candidates from the world of sport and showbusiness who were contesting some of the 513 seats in the lower house of Congress.

Tiririca's sucess could also have a bearing on other election races, as he can pass on his excess votes to other candidates in his party's coalition, which includes the governing Workers Party. Tiririca survived a last-minute legal challenge to his candidacy amid evidence that he did not meet the literacy requirement for elected office. However, the electoral authorities indicated he could be removed from office if he failed to show he can read and write after the election.

RULES OF THUMB

The "NESS" ending

darkness: the state of absence of light.

We can often add "ness" to an adjective to get the noun form.

If the adjective ends in "y", take away the "y" and add "iness".

e.g. darkness, sadness, loneliness, happiness, laziness, craziness.

What is the noun form of "silly"?

The whole class was so silly that the teacher left the room.

The teacher left the room because of all the ___.

The answer is "silliness".

Word of The Day

ABATE

Function: verb (no object)

Comparative and superlative forms: abates; abated; abating

Meaning: to become weaker - to decrease in strength
e.g. We waited for the wind/storm to abate. The excitement has abated.

Derived form:
abatement - noun
Plural: abatements

e.g. (noncount) The violence has continued without abatement.
(count)a tax abatement (an amount by which a tax is reduced).

Clip of The Day

MASH is a 1970 American satirical comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on the novel by Richard Hooker. One of the biggest hit films of the early 1970s for Twentieth Century Fox, and especially during the time of the Vietnam era. The film is set during the Korean War, but mirrors the tragedy of Vietnam.

The film stars Donald Sutherland, Tom Skerritt and Elliott Gould, with Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen, Gary Burghoff, Michael Murphy, Rene Auberjonois, David Arkin and Fred Williamson.

The "best equipped dentist in the army", tells a mate that he has suffered a "lack of performance" with a visiting nurse and now believes that he has latent homosexual tendencies. Soon after, he reveals his desire to commit suicide and seeks advice on which method to use. His friends then suggest him to use the "black capsule", a fictitious, fast-acting poison. At an impromptu Last Supper, Dr. Painless takes the capsule actually a sleeping pill and falls asleep in a coffin to the strains of "Suicide is Painless" the theme song. Capt Hawkeye then persuades Lt. Maria Schneider, one of the nurses who is returning to the U.S. the following day, to spend the night with Painless, thus curing him of his problems. See the funeral scene. HC

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

The Drinks On Me

A drunk walks into a bar and says to the bartender, "Bartender, buy everyone in the house a drink, pour yourself one, and give me the bill."

So, the bartender does just that and hands the man a bill for $57.00. The drunk says, "I haven't got it."

The bartender slaps the guy around a few times then throws him out into the street.

The very next day the same drunk walks into the bar and once again says, "Bartender, buy everyone in the house a drink, pour yourself one, and give me the bill."

The bartender looks at the guy and figures to himself that he can't possibly be stupid enough to pull the same trick twice, so he gives him the benefit of the doubt, pours a round of drinks for the house, has a drink himself and hands the drunk a bill for $67.00.

The drunk says, "I haven't got it."

The bartender can't believe it. He picks the guy up, beats the living daylights out of him, then throws him out into the street.

The next day the same drunk walks back into the same bar and says "Bartender, buy every one in the house a drink, give me the bill."

In disgust, the bartender says, "What, no drink for me this time?"

The drunk replies, "You? No way! You get too violent when you drink."

Quote of the Day

You know you're really down and out when you find an ice-cream parlor that offers some 25 different combinations of flavors and you ask for vanilla...

Famous last words

"Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l'ai pas fait exprès."

Translation: "Pardon me, sir. I did not do it on purpose."

Who: Marie Antoinette

Note: As she approached the guillotine, convicted of treason and about to be beheaded, she accidentally stepped on the foot of her executioner.

Rules of Thumb

To look up to – To admire and respect To look down on – To act as if someone is less important than you To treat someone as an equal – To act as if someone is the same as you

Has–Been

Function: noun (count)

Plural: Has-Beens

Status: informal

Meaning:

A person who is no longer popular or successful
e.g. They called him a washed-up old has-been.

A famous child actor who had become a has-been at 25

Note: Has-Been is often used before another noun.

e.g. A Has-Been singer

Video of the Day - Alberta Hunter

Alberta Hunter was an American blues singer and songwriter. Her career had started back in the early 1920s, and despite her upbringing, she went on to become one of the most famous jazz and blues performers of her time. In the 1950s, shocked by her mother’s death, Hunter retired from the limelight and worked as a nurse for 11 years. Hunter was working at New York's Goldwater Memorial Hospital in 1961 when record producer Chris Albertson asked her to break an 11-year absence from the recording studio.

Hunter finally got her break when she moved to New York City. She performed with such famous jazz names as Bricktop and Louis Armstrong. She made her home in the city and bought more than one house there, but it was a constant reminder of the struggle for work. She felt more comfortable in Europe where the work was more readily available. Equally important to Alberta was the fact that racism was not as strong a factor outside of the United States as it was inside. I had the privilege of seeing Dame Alberta Hunter singing the blues in São Paulo, some two years before she passed away in 1984. HC.

Pope Michael I

There are more things in heaven and earth, than are dreamt of in our vain philosophy. The world, seems to go crazier by each passing day. The event below is a real proof of that. HC

"The pious citizen of the photo above is David Allen Bawden, American, elected "Pope Michael I" by a group of six post-Sedevacantists Conclavis Catholics, under the argument that the elections of the past six Popes were invalid because of the elect are all too modernists.

The Sedevacantists argue that if the College of Cardinals electing a Pope can not "valid", Catholics like they can do so under the principle of "Epikeia" (equity). Acting on this principle, David Bawden was elected Pope by six people in 1990 (including himself and his parents).

David Allen Bawden (born September 22, 1959), was elected "Pope Michael I" to fill the vacancy they consider to have been caused by the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958. He is one of a group of self-proclaimed papal pretenders (or antipopes), including Fr. Lucian Pulvermacher (proclaimed Pius XIII) in Montana and the late Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (proclaimed Gregory XVII) in Spain."

His Holiness Michael I is in full possession of his sacred office to this date.

LAUGHTER’S THE BEST MEDICINE

The Institution of Marriage

I've had bad luck with both my wives. The first one left me, and the second one didn't. - James Holt McGavra

Two secrets to keep your marriage brimming
1. Whenever you're wrong, admit it,
2. Whenever you're right, shut up.
- Patrick Murray

The most effective way to remember your wife's birthday "is to forget it once".
- Nash

You know what I did before I married? "Anything I wanted to." - Anonymous

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. "Then we met." - Henny Youngman

A good wife always forgives her husband "when she's wrong."
- Rodney Dangerfield

A man inserted an ad in the classifieds: Wife wanted. Next day he received a hundred letters. They all said the same thing: "You can have mine."
- Anonymous

First Guy (proudly): My wife's an angel!
Second Guy: "You're lucky, mine's still alive."
- Anonymous