Wednesday, March 06, 2013

The Clip of the Day



Todays's clip shows a certain Joe Brown 71, a british gentleman absolutely unknown to me. Mr. Brown is a musician and singer who works in the show business for more than five decades. In recent years he has focused on several recordings and in the participation of at least two tours per year which makes about 100 shows the time when he releases an album annually. Highly regarded in the music world he commands respect and admiration among his equals. His performance of "I'll See You In My Dreams" (song that populated my youth), at the "Concert for George" when he was a young man of 60 years shows that it is still great after all these years. Simplicity combined with sincerity and frankness, without the affectation of sickly light cannons, special effects, clouds of dry ice, fireworks and stage of 25 feet long, give the right amount of the message. The "drummer" with only two brushes and a box sent myself back by the side of a friend playing the piano, on Saturday afternoons at the Conservatory of my hometown in the 1950s. See the clip. HC

RULES OF THUMB

Do you think that jam is only something you eat on your bread?
Look at the examples of how we use the word ”jam”.

I always have my toast with strawberry jam.
jam: a sticky sweet spread made of fruit.

I'm sorry I'm late. I got stuck in a traffic jam.
traffic jam: when there are so many cars that you can't move.

Hey, Chris, I'm in a jam. Can you lend me $10 until tomorrow?
in a jam: in a bad situation

Monday, March 04, 2013

Check, please!


 Every time a new Pope is elected, there are many rituals in accordance with tradition, but, there is one tradition that very few people know about.

Shortly after a new Pope is enthroned, the Chief Rabbi of Rome seeks an audience. He is shown into the Pope's presence, whereupon he presents the Pope with a silver tray bearing a velvet cushion.   On top of the cushion is an ancient, shriveled envelope.   The Pope symbolically stretches out his arm in a gesture of rejection.   The Chief Rabbi then retires, taking the envelope with him and does not return until the next Pope is elected.

A new Pope's reign was shortly followed by a new Chief Rabbi.   He was intrigued by this ritual and that its origins were unknown to him.   He instructed the best scholars of the Vatican to research it, but they came up with nothing.

When the time came and the Chief Rabbi was shown into his presence, they faithfully enacted the ritual rejection but, as the Chief Rabbi turned to leave, the Pope called him back.

"My brother," the Pope whispered, "I must confess that we Catholics are ignorant of the meaning of this ritual enacted for centuries between us and you, the representative of the Jewish people.   I have to ask you, what is it all about?"

The Chief Rabbi shrugged and replied: "We have no more idea than you do.   The origin of the ceremony is lost in the traditions of ancient history."

The Pope said: "Let us retire to my private chambers and enjoy a glass of kosher wine together; then with your agreement, we shall open the envelope and discover the secret at last."   The Chief Rabbi agreed.

Fortified in their resolve by the wine, they gingerly pried open the curling parchment envelope and with trembling fingers, the Chief Rabbi reached inside and extracted a folded sheet of similarly ancient paper.

As the Pope peered over his shoulder, he slowly opened it.   They both gasped with shock.

It was a bill for the Last Supper from "Moishe, the Caterer."

Friday, March 01, 2013

RULES OF THUMB

Let's play with the letter "S" 

1 - The commonest way of forming the plural of nouns is to add "S" to the singular:
e.g. Book - Books - House - Houses - Boy - Boys

2 - The Third Person Singular of the Present Tense ends in "S":
e.g. She looks gorgeous in that red dress
He speaks English and French
She drives her car recklessly

3 - The apostrophe before a final "S" stands for a Possessive Case:
e.g. This is Mary's book
That is Mr Brando's automobile

4 - The apostrophe before a final "S" also stands for IS:
e.g. Peter's a nice guy. Peter is a nice guy
He's waiting for you at the airport. He is waiting for you at the airport

5 - The apostrophe before a final "S" stands for HAS:
e.g. He's (he has) gone to Paris on his Annual Leave
She's (she has) been sleeping for 24 hours

 

6 - The apostrophe before a final "S" stands for LET'S = LET US:
e.g. She is tired, let's take her home.
Forget the football game, let's go to the movies instead.

7 - The apostrophe after a final "S" indicates the possessive form of the plural:
e.g. The Girls' results were better than the Boys'.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Automobiles


They're big, expensive, and breath-taking marvels of engineering, but to view automobiles purely as transportation is to miss their essence. Cars are the first true freedom of the adolescent, and throughout our adult years they continue to represent escape, the ability to speed away from responsibilities and cares. It's no wonder Detroit constantly plays upon this theme in its advertising — they know it sells!
Automobiles are both a means of getting from one place to another and a place in themselves, making them both conveyance and cocoon. We sing along to the radio in them, something we'd likely not dare to do at home. Our first passionate encounters take place in them. And when all other resting places fail us, we sleep in them. Automobiles are as much about private inviolate space as they are about transportation.
 

The importance of automobiles in our lives secures their place in the lore of our times. They are both practical and whimsical, reliable and frightening, mundane and exciting, necessary and exotic, commonplace and mysterious. They are, in other words, the mechanical expression of humanity.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Most Lethal Food

A dietician was once addressing a large audience in Chicago.


"The material we put into our stomachs is enough to have killed most of us sitting here, years ago.

Red meat is awful. Vegetables can be disastrous, and none of us realises the germs in our drinking water.

But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all and we all eat it. Can anyone here tell me what lethal product I'm referring to?"

"You, sir, in the first row, please give us your idea."

The man lowered his head and said, "Wedding cake."

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Tips & Humor


TIPS OF THE WEEK - THE WORD “SICK” :
 
If you feel sick, you feel physically or mentally ill; not healthy or well.
To feel sick - to feel unwell or ill.
I went home early from work because I felt sick.
To get sick - to throw up; to vomit
I got sick on the plane because of the turbulence.
To call in sick
- to tell your employer  that you're not coming to work because you don't feel well.
Betty called in sick three days last week. She had the flu.  
I was as sick as a dog. I was in bed with a fever of 42 degrees. 
To be as sick as a dog - to be very, very sick.






HUMOR :
No Respect
      
 - My boss was complaining in a staff meeting the other day  that he wasn't getting any respect. Later that morning he went out and got a small sign that read, "I'M THE BOSS"! He then taped it to his office door. When he returned from lunch, he found that someone had taped a note to the sign that said:
     
 -  "Your wife called, she wants her sign back”!
  

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Diamonds are for farting!

A Lady walks into Tiffany's... She looks around, spots a beautiful diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it. As she bends over to look more closely, she unexpectedly farts...

Very embarrassed she looks around nervously to see if anyone noticedd her little woops and prays that a salesperson was not anywhere near...

As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her...

Good looking as well... cool as a cucumber, he displays all of the qualities one would expect of a professional in a store like Tiffany's

He polite greets the lady with,

- "good day, madam... how may we help  you today"?

Blushing and uncomfortable, but still hoping that the salesman somehow missed her little "incident", she asks,

- "Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?"
 

He answers,

- " Madam... if you farted  just looking at it - you're going to shit when I tell you the price.

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Camping


An illiterate father with his educated son went on a camping trip, they set up their tent and feel asleep.
Some hour later, father wakes his son and asks:
- "Look up to the sky and tell me what do you see?
- Son: I see Millions of stars...
- Father: What does that tell you?
- Son: Astronomically it tells there are millions of galaxies and planets up there...
- Father: Slaps the son hard and says, "Idiot, someone has stolen our tent!"

Monday, December 03, 2012

TIPS OF THE DAY – PREPOSITIONS

ACROSS - Indica movimento ou extensão por cima de um objeto, de um lado para outro. – Através de.

                        e.g.: -   He lives across the street.
                                   She swam across the river.

AFTER - Depois de, após, atrás de, em busca ou no encalço de, à maneira de, abaixo de (graduação),
     e.g.: -   After a storm comes a calm.
                                   The letter arrived the day after.
                                   Peter went after his brothers.
                                   The policeman ran after the crook.
                                   A painting after Rembrandt.
                                   A captain comes after a major.

AGAINST - Contra, em contato com, para, (em previsão de).
                        e.g.: - Let’s all fight against tyranny.
                                 The public opinion was against Bill Clinton.
                                 She was leaning against the wall.
                                 We must save against bad days in the future.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Friday, November 02, 2012

Why Do Couples Fight ?


 When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive. So, I took her to a petrol pump And then the fight started.

I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?"
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation."Somewhere I've not been in a long time." So I took her to the kitchen. Then the fight started.

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels.
She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.' And then the fight started.

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 100 in about 3 seconds.' I bought her a weighing scale. And then the fight started.