MONDAYS ARE ALWAYS BAD DAYS, BUT THIS IS OUR LAST ONE THIS COURSE ["MANIC MONDAY", THE BANGLES]

The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade. Susanna Hoffs joined sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson and Annette Zilinskas to form a band in Los Angeles in December, 1980. The band was part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s-influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punk–ish/garage band undertone. All this went some way to attracting the attention of Prince, who later wrote "Manic Monday" for the group. "Manic Monday" went on to become a #2 hit in the US, the UK and Germany.

Video "MANIC MONDAY", The Bangles:

Audio "MANIC MONDAY", The Bangles+lyrics:

"LIFELINES": ANDREA CORR'S SECOND SOLO-ALBUM

Andrea Corr, one of the siblings which made up Irish successful 90s pop-group The Corrs, is just back with her second solo-album of cover versions "LIFELINES". In it, she collects songs by Lennon, Roy Orbison, Velvet Underground, Kirsty McColl, Harry Nilsson, Ron Sexsmith, Nick Drake & The Blue Nile. Songs and artists which have meant something to her in her life. Here's her video and a promotional interview from BBC1.

Video interview from BBC1:

Video "TINSELTOWN IN THE RAIN" (single):

Lyrics:
Why did we ever come so far ?
I knew I'd seen it all before
Tall building reach up in vain
Tinseltown is in the rain
I know now love was so exciting

Tinseltown in the rain
Oh men and women
Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm

One day this love will all blow over
Time for leaving the parade
Is there a place in this city
A place to always feel this way
And hey, there's a red car in the fountain

Tinseltown in the rain
Oh men and women
Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm

Do I love you ? Yes I love you
Will we always be happy go lucky ?
Do I love you ? Yes I love you
But it's easy come, and it's easy go
All this talking is only bravado yeah

Oh, Tinseltown

Tinseltown in the rain
Oh men and women
Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm
Tinseltown in the rain
Oh men and women
Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm
Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain

Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Do I love you ? Yes I love you
Will we always be happy go lucky ?
Do I love you ? Yes I love you
But it's easy come, and it's easy go
All this talking, talking is only bravado

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain
Tinseltown is in the rain

100 YEARS WITH IBM

International Business Machines (IBM) is an American multinational technology and consulting firm headquartered in Armonk, New York. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.
The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation through a merger of four companies and adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924.
In 2011, Fortune ranked IBM the 18th largest firm in the U.S., as well as the 7th most profitable. Globally, the company was ranked the 31st largest firm by Forbes for 2011. Other rankings for 2010 include #1 company for leaders, #2 best global brand, #3 green company, #15 most admired company, and #18 most innovative company. IBM employs more than 425,000 employees(sometimes referred to as "IBMers")in over 200 countries, with occupations including scientists, engineers, consultants, and sales professionals.
IBM holds more patents than any other U.S.-based technology company and has nine research laboratories worldwide. Its employees have garnered five Nobel Prizes, five National Medals of Science, among many others. The company has undergone several organizational changes since its inception, acquiring some companies and spinning off companies like Lexmark (1991).

Video on IBM's Centennial:

LET'S READ FOR INSPIRATION

Where did this little boy get the inspiration to write this?

"How tired I am of this unbearable distance between us. How I long for the toll of the recess bell. Have you forgotten me? Grown mindless of me? Tell me I am not writing into an abyss. Or that is what will become of my heart."

From reading! Why don't you?

Video "READING INSPIRES CHILDREN":

SIXTH ROLAND GARROS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR RAFA NADAL

For the sixth time in seven years, Spanish tennis-player has won the French Roland Garros Championship. Rafael Nadal equalled Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles after defeating Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-1 in a hard-hitting final at Roland Garros.
The world number one brushed off an early injury concern to move into a commanding two-set lead and seemed to be heading for an easy win.
Some inspired play from Federer caused Nadal to wobble at the end of the third set but the Swiss player could not keep mistakes out of his game and any hopes of an unlikely comeback were soon killed off by the clay court master.
Nadal raced away from his great rival in the fourth set to move level with Borg as the man with the most French Open titles since the tournament became an international event in 1925.

Video Rafa Nadal Clay Tennis King:

E.COLI CUCUMBER CRISIS

The E.coli cucumber crisis has hit the news throughout Europe this week. Here's coverage on the British media:

[bbc.co.uk]
E. coli cucumber scare: Spain angry at German claims

Spain has expressed anger at links being made between Spanish cucumbers and a deadly E. coli outbreak.
The country's agriculture minister said Germany pointed to Spanish cucumbers "without having reliable data".
Meanwhile, German officials have voiced doubts about whether the Spanish cucumbers they are investigating carried the deadly E. coli strain.
The outbreak has led to 16 deaths - 15 in Germany and a woman who died in Sweden after travelling to Germany.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national disease institute, says more than 1,150 people within Germany have been affected by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, also known as EHEC.
In many instances, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Haemolytic-uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal.
The RKI has confirmed 373 cases of HUS in Germany.
"We want Germany to provide, without any delay and distractions, the necessary information of its investigation", Rosa Aguilar Spanish agriculture minister
German authorities initially pointed to organic cucumbers from Spain. But Spanish officials have refused to accept the blame, saying it is still unclear exactly when and where the vegetables were contaminated.
Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar said: "We are disappointed by the way Germany handles the situation."
"We want Germany to provide, without any delay and distractions, the necessary information of its investigation so that the European Union can know what is causing the E. coli outbreak."
Speaking at an EU meeting in Hungary, she also said the issue should be treated as a "common problem" and that there should be compensation for Spanish and other European producers affected.
The Netherlands has also said it will ask for compensation.
The president of Spain's fruit and vegetable export federation has urged the government to deal with the outbreak, saying it was costing Spanish exporters $200m (£120m) a week.
Asked which countries had stopped buying Spanish produce, Jorge Brotons was quoted as telling a news conference: "Almost all Europe. There is a domino effect on all vegetables and fruits."
Authorities in Hamburg said four suspect cucumbers found there last week - including three imported from Spain - were carrying EHEC, but not the same kind found in patients.
"As before the source remains unidentified," Hamburg state health minister Cornelia Pruefer-Storcks said.
"Our hope of discovering the source of the cases of severe complications with HUS unfortunately has not been fulfilled by these first results."
She also defended the decision to link the outbreak to Spanish cucumbers last week.
"It would have been irresponsible with this number of ill people to keep quiet about a well-grounded suspicion," she said. "Protecting people's lives is more important than economic interests."
Earlier, a senior German scientist warned that the outbreak could worsen.
"We hope the number of cases will go down but we fear it will worsen," said Oliver Grieve, of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, where many victims are being treated.
German authorities have warned people to avoid eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce.
In Sweden, authorities said there were 39 suspected E. coli infections, including 15 with HUS.
On Tuesday, Swedish authorities said a woman in her 50s had died in hospital, after being admitted on Sunday following a trip to Germany.
Cases have also been reported in Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK.
Several countries have taken steps to curtail the outbreak, such as banning cucumber imports and removing the vegetables from sale.

Video from SkyNews:

Video from Euronews:

CHAMPION LEAGUE FINAL 2011: BARÇA BEATS MANCHESTER UNITED AT LONDON'S WEMBLEY STADIUM

Barça Football Club won last night their fourth Champion League Final against Manchester United at London's Wembley Stadium. Here's how British media have reported the news:

[guardian.co.uk]

Champions League press reaction: 'This Barça is the best team in the world'
• Spanish press places Barcelona in the pantheon of greats.

The Spanish press were united in hailing Barcelona's victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final as a landmark for the club and for European football. As they groped for superlatives nearly all the newspapers found space for a headline containing Sir Alex Ferguson's quote: "No one has given us such a hiding."
The notoriously madridista Marca saluted the victors as "A dream Barça", with all its echoes of Johan Cruyff's Dream Team of the 1990s. Indeed the paper referred to the "Pep Team" after their coach, Pep Guardiola, and described their football as "excellent".

La Vanguardia did not stint on the hyperbole with the headline: "Barcelona enters Olympus with the gods."

El País proclaimed: "Wembley falls in love with Barça." Recalling the club's first European Cup victory at the same stadium in 1992, the paper observed: "From Wembley to Wembley Barcelona has undergone an extraordinary process of maturing ... There is no better defence of an idea than victories, but there is no better victory than the fact that the stability of a club does not depend exclusively on a final result, but on a route map. That is the greatness of this Barça, which, make no mistake, will also be the principles that will enable them to vaccinate themselves in defeat."

The already pro-Barcelona Mundo Deportivo was beside itself and felt the best way to express its enthusiasm was by placing four exclamation marks after the word "Champions" (in English).

The celebrating Barcelona fans, the culés, have taken up José Mourinho's pointed question – with its suggestion of skulduggery – of "why?" do Barcelona keep winning as a chant: "por qué?". El Mundo Deportivo produced a long list of reasons why, including Guardiola's brilliance, David Villa's conclusive third goal, Eric Abidal's return from life-threatening surgery, etc...

In Barcelona 132 people, including 37 local police, were injured in disturbances as up to 50,000 people celebrated the victory on the streets. Police made 84 arrests for public order offences around Plaça de Catalunya, Las Ramblas and the Arc de Triomf which come in the wake of weeks of unrelated street protests in the Catalan capital.

Videos from Euronews:

GRIMSVÖTN: ANOTHER ICELANDIC VOLCANO DISRUPTS EUROPEAN SKIES A YEAR AFTER

Here's information on Iceland's 2011 volcano, which threats to close down European skies:

[bbc.co.uk]
Iceland has closed its main international airport and cancelled domestic flights after its most active volcano, Grimsvotn, began erupting.
A plume of smoke has risen 20km (12 miles) into the sky from the volcano.
But Iceland's Meteorological Office says the eruption should not cause widespread disruption to air traffic.
Last year, ash clouds from another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, led to the closure of a large section of European airspace.
Governments feared that ash particles could cause aircraft engines to fail, and the closure caused chaos to air travellers.
Different ash
Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for the Isavia civil aviation authority said: "We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have."
The authority said Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, would remain shut for the rest of Sunday.
But officials say the eruption is unlikely to have the same impact as Eyjafjallajokul in 2010.
University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said this was Grimsvotn's largest eruption for 100 years, "much bigger and more intensive than Eyjafjallajokull".
He added: "There is a very large area in south-east Iceland where there is almost total darkness and heavy fall of ash. But it is not spreading nearly as much. The winds are not as strong as they were in Eyjafjallajokull."
He said this ash was coarser than last year's eruption, falling to the ground more quickly instead of floating long distances.

Video from ITN News:

Video from Channel 4 News:

SPAIN'S LOCAL & REGIONAL ELECTION RESULTS

Once again, we've looked at the British media to see how the news of Spain's local and regional elections has been covered:

[From bbc.co.uk]

Spain's governing Socialist party has suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections.
Amid anger at the failing economy, the centre-right Popular Party (PP) won 37% of the vote to the Socialists' 28%, and nearly all the 13 regions up for grabs.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero conceded defeat but ruled out early general elections.
There was a shock result in the Basque country, where a new radical separatist alliance beat the Socialists.
The new grouping, Bildu, which was nearly banned by the courts for members' alleged links to the armed group ETA, won more than 25% of the council election vote.
That put it second behind the moderate Basque Nationalist Party, which won about 30%, and pushed the Socialists, with 16%, into third.

Voting took place amid mass protests against high unemployment and the government's handling of the economy.
Young demonstrators holding sit-ins in Madrid and other cities said rallies would continue for another week.
Mr Zapatero said three years of economic crisis had taken their toll.
"It destroyed thousands of jobs. It is a crisis that had profound effects on citizens' morale. I know that many Spaniards suffer great hardship and fear for their futures," he said.
"Today, without doubt, they expressed their discontent," he added.
However, he vowed to pursue job-creating reforms until the end of his mandate. A general election must be held by March of next year. He has already said he will not stand for re-election.Bastions fall
Jubilant PP supporters celebrated outside their party headquarters in Madrid as the final votes were being counted.
The party seized power in several regions, including Castilla-La Mancha where the Socialists have always held power.
In municipal elections, the PP won by about two million votes, compared to its victory margin of 150,000 in 2007.

The Socialist party also lost bastions such as the town halls in Barcelona and Seville.
Prime Minister Zapatero's government has been struggling to overcome recession and create jobs.
Spain's overall jobless rate soared to 21% in the first quarter of this year, the highest in the industrialised world. Youth unemployment stands at 45%.
Meanwhile, thousands of young protesters remain camped out in squares across the country.
What began as a sit-in in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square a week ago has turned into a national protest movement popularly known as 15-M.
About 30,000 people were estimated to have occupied the central square in the run-up to the vote.
The protests, which have also taken place in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao, have so far been peaceful.
Demonstrators defied a government ban on political protests on the eve of the election.
On Sunday, protesters in Puerta del Sol voted to stay in the square until at least 29 May.

Video from Euronews:

TALKING ABOUT A REVOLUTION...

"Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution'" is the second single from African American contemporary folk artist Tracy Chapman. The politically aware song was released in August 1988. Internationally, this single was a big hit, reaching the Top 40 in several countries, including France and New Zealand, becoming a classic in Chapman's song repertoire. The song received heavy radio play in Tunisia in 2011 during the Tunisian Revolution and it appears here as a possible soundtrack to these days Spanish Revolution sit-ins on our streets, as the lyrics show a situation of crisis and unemployment. Here's the video with lyrics.

Video "TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION", Tracey Chapman:

SPANISH TAKE THE STREETS ON PROTEST BEFORE SUNDAY'S LOCAL ELECTIONS

The 2011 May Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, Spanish revolution or Indignados (Spanish for outraged) are a series of demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks and the ¡Democracia Real Ya! (True Democracy Right Now!) civilian digital platform, along with 200 other small associations.

Starting on 15 May 2011 with an initial call in 58 Spanish cities,the series of peaceful protests demand a radical change in Spanish politics, as protesters don't consider themselves to be represented by any party nor favoured by the measures approved by politicians. The protests have been staged close to the municipal elections, to be held on May 22. The press has related them to the economic crisis, Stéphane Hessel's Time for Outrage!,the NEET troubled generation and current protests in the Middle East and North Africa, Greek, as well as the Icelandic protest and riots.
Even though protesters form a heterogeneous and ambiguous group, they share a strong rejection against Spanish politicians, the current two-party system in Spain between PSOE and PP and political corruption and a firm support for basic rights: home, work, culture, health, education.
A protester in Madrid with the hashtag #spanishrevolution in his banner. Social networks have played a decisive role in these demonstrations, but Twitter has been the most important by far, with hundreds of tweets per minute in critical moments and some hashtags becoming rapidly global trending topic, such as #DemocraciaRealYa, #NoLesVotes, #AcampadaSol or #NoNosVamos.
These protests have also appeared in a critical situation: Spanish youths are academically more prepared than ever before but they're facing a 50% youth unemployment, and 89% of Spaniards think political parties only care about themselves, according to Metroscopia. Protesters' purpose is to camp in cities' main squares until May 22.
There have also been several protests outside Spain: Braga, Coimbra, Faro, Lisboa and Porto in Portugal, Dublin in Ireland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Paris in France and London in the United Kingdom.

Video from Euronews:

PS22: A CHOIR OF TEN YEAR-OLDS FROM THE INTERNET TO LIVE-PERFORMANCE SUCCESS

The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders (10 year-olds), and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island which draws students from a wide cross section of ethnic groups and socio-economic levels. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. It has been featured on several major national news and music networks after its videos had gained international attention within the popular video-sharing site YouTube. As of April, 2011 the chorus’s videos have been watched more than 32,000,000 times.
The PS22 chorus was founded in 2000 by the school's music teacher, Gregg Breinberg, who started blogging about it in September 2006 following requests on a Tori Amos fan page, where he had shared some of his videos. Since then the chorus has become an Internet phenomenon.
The students performed at the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27, 2011, as you can see on this video:

Their latest is a cover version of Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart" –which has, in just over a day, already had over 25,800 views.

Compare with the original by Roxette:

You can watch more on their blog:
http://ps22chorus.blogspot.com/

VIDEO-LESSONS ON THE PASSIVE VOICE (+Exercise practice)

Once again video explanations & practice on the Passive Voice. Have a look to check on what we've said in class. Video-lessons PASSIVE:

Links to exercises:
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/passiv.htm

http://www.english-4u.de/passive.html

LORCA'S EARTHQUAKE ON THE BRITISH MEDIA

Last Wednesday afternoon, two earthquakes shook the town of Lorca (Murcia) in the southeast of Spain. The news has had coverage on the British media. We have found some examples:

[From bbc.co.uk]

Hundreds of people have spent the night outdoors in the southern Spanish town of Lorca after an earthquake which killed at least 9 people.
The magnitude-5.2 tremor toppled several buildings after striking at a depth of just 1km (0.6 miles), 120km south-west of Alicante.
Lines of cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble and a hospital was evacuated as a precaution.
Wednesday evening's quake came about two hours after a 4.4-magnitude tremor.
It is not clear how many people were injured, although Spanish media say there are dozens.
Military deployed
Spanish TV captured dramatic images of a church bell tower crashing to the ground, landing just metres from a cameraman.
Shocked residents and workers rushed out of buildings and gathered in squares, parks and open spaces. Old buildings were badly damaged.
As night fell many people were still too afraid to return to their homes.
"The whole of the centre of Lorca has been seriously damaged," a delegate from the regional government of Murcia told national radio.
"There are thousands of very disorientated people."
A doctor told the online edition of El Pais that she and her colleagues went into the streets and treated people with serious injuries, many of them "unconscious".

Video report from ITN-News with footage from RTVE:

Video report from Euronews:

Video from BBC-Breakfast News:

THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN

[Extract from the beginning of the book. Read during the Intercultural Week, lecture on the USA, 10th May]

YOU don't know about me without you have read a
book by the name of The Adventures of Tom
Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was
made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth,
mainly. There was things which he stretched, but
mainly he told the truth. That is nothing. I never
seen anybody but lied one time or another, without it
was Aunt Polly, or the widow, or maybe Mary. Aunt
Polly - Tom's Aunt Polly, she is - and Mary, and
the Widow Douglas is all told about in that book,
which is mostly a true book, with some stretchers, as
I said before.

Now the way that the book winds up is this: Tom
and me found the money that the robbers hid in the
cave, and it made us rich. We got six thousand dollars
apiece -- all gold. It was an awful sight of money
when it was piled up. Well, Judge Thatcher he took
it and put it out at interest, and it fetched us a dollar
a day apiece all the year round -- more than a body
could tell what to do with. The Widow Douglas she
took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize
me; but it was rough living in the house all the time,
considering how dismal regular and decent the widow
was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it
no longer I lit out. I got into my old rags and my
sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied. But
Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going
to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would
go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went
back.

Link to listen to it: http://content.loudlit.org/audio/hfinn/pages/01_01_hfinn.htm

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is a book by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Considered as one of the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective).
The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes, particularly racism.
The work has been popular with readers since its publication and is taken as a sequel to "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". It has also been the continued object of study by serious literary critics. It was criticized upon release because of its coarse language and became even more controversial in the 20th century because of its perceived use of racial stereotypes and because of its frequent use of the racial slur "nigger", despite that the main protagonist, and the tenor of the book, is anti-racist.

THE CAT IN THE HAT

[Whole story read at Multicultural Week, lecture on USA, 10th May]

"The Cat in the Hat" is a children's book by Dr. Seuss and perhaps the most famous, featuring a tall, anthropomorphic, mischievous cat, wearing a tall, red and white-striped hat and a red bow tie. He also carries a pale blue umbrella. With the series of Beginner Books that The Cat inaugurated, Seuss promoted both his name and the cause of elementary literacy in the United States of America.

In the first book featuring the character ("The Cat in the Hat", 1957), the Cat brings a cheerful, exotic and exuberant form of chaos to a house with two young kids, brother and sister, one rainy day while their mother leaves them unattended. The Cat performs all sorts of wacky tricks—the Cat at one point balances a teacup, some milk, a cake, three books, the Fish, a rake, a toy boat, a toy man, a red fan, and his umbrella to amuse the children, with mixed results, while the pet-fish gets angry. Then, the Cat gets a box from outside. Inside the box are two creatures named Thing One and Thing Two, who begin to fly kites in the house. The Cat's funny tricks are vainly opposed by the family pet, a sapient and articulate fish. The children (Sally and her unnamed older brother, who serves as the narrator) ultimately prove exemplary latchkey* children, capturing the Things with a net and bringing the Cat under control. To make up for the chaos he has caused, he cleans up the house on his way out, disappearing a second before the mother arrives.

The book has been popular since its publication, and a logo featuring the Cat adorns all Dr. Seuss publications and animated films produced after "The Cat in the Hat". Seuss wrote the book because he felt that there should be more entertaining and fun material for beginning readers. From a literary point of view, the book is a feat of skill, since it simultaneously maintains a strict triple meter, keeps to a tiny vocabulary, and tells an entertaining tale. Literary critics occasionally write recreational essays about the work, having fun with issues such as the absence of the mother and the psychological or symbolic characterizations of Cat, Things, and Fish.

More than 11 million copies of "The Cat in the Hat" have been printed. It has been translated into more than 12 different languages. In particular, it has been translated into Latin with the title "Cattus Petasatus".

Slide from the book:

View more presentations from neirten.

A beloved favorite, this Dr. Seuss classic comes to life in an animated adaptation. Impulsive and imaginative, the Cat in the Hat romps through the house dispelling boredom for a brother and sister on a rainy day — naturally, only while Mum is away!

Video clip of the animated version:

"The Cat in the Hat" is a 2003 American slapstick comedy film loosely based on the 1957 book of the same name by Dr. Seuss.

Video trailer of the 2003:

[*latchkey children = children who have the key of their house to go back in after school because their parents are working]

Tatiana & Charlene reading "The Cat in the Hat" at our school library in front of their class-mates and German exchange students on Tuesday, May 10th.

SPANISH CHAMPION GOLFER, SEVE BALLESTEROS DIES AT 54

Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota (9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He announced himself to the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19 he finished second at The Open Championship. A member of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major tournaments between the years of 1979 and 1988, including The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice. He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain. He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball.
Because of back-related injuries, Ballesteros struggled with form during the 1990s. In spite of this, he continued to be involved in the game of golf, creating the Seve Trophy and running a golf course design business. Ballesteros eventually retired from competitive golf in 2007 because of continued poor form, and in 2008 was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. After reports that Ballesteros would make a return to the spotlight at the 2010 Open Championship, following the advice of doctors, he did not travel to St Andrews in 2010 for the Open Championship.
Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his friend, compatriot and former Ryder Cup team-mate José María Olazábal. Ballesteros died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.

Video on Seve Ballesteros death from SkyNews:

Video on Seve Ballesteros death from ITN News:

Video extract from "Seve's story":

OBAMA CONFIRMS BIN LADEN'S DEATH

Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن‎, March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011) was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda, responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. As a result of his dealings in and advocacy of violent extremist jihad, Osama bin Laden lost his Saudi citizenship and was disowned by his billionaire family.
Osama bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings. Since 2001, Osama bin Laden and his organization had been major targets of the U.S. War on Terror. He was believed to be hiding near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas with fellow al-Qaeda leaders.
On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an operation conducted by a small group of American military forces and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Video Obama's statement to the world on Bin Laden's death+a short Bin Laden's biography:

Video first 5 minutes CNN TV coverage on 9/112001:

WILLIAM & KATE: THE LATEST BRITISH ROYAL WEDDING IN LONDON TODAY

Interest on the latest British Royal Wedding has been big. Two billion people around the world are said to have tuned in. It has been the biggest media event ever staged in the UK and the TV companies from all over the world are pulling out all the stops – putting cameras all over the country and using their most popular presenters and knowledgeable experts to tempt viewers.Our interest here is because you can hear some English once again.

Video Kate walking down the aisle:

Video William & Kate exchanging of vows:

BOMBAY SMILES: JAUME SANLLORENTE'S STORY

Jaume San Llorente Trepat was born in Barcelona on 9th July 1976. He studied journalism at Bareclona's Ramón Llull University, later specializing in finantial journalism. He was delegate for Catalonia of the Comercio Exterior magazine.
After several years devoted to finantial press, he went on holidays to India for the first time in 2003. He was shoked by the existing poverty there, particularly by the vulnerability of small children on the streets of Bombay, where kidnappings and child exploitation were frequent in slums, such as Kamathipura.
After discovering a small orphanage about to close for economic reasons, Jaume Sanllorente decided to give up his job and life in Barcelona, to prevent its closure and to create the Spanish non governmental organization Sonrisas de Bombay ("Bombay smiles").

Fortunately. we've found a video in English with Jaume Sanllorente's story of how he created Bombay Smiles. Take a look...