HAVE YOU HEARD OF EARTHHOUR? MARCH 27TH 20:30 hrs.

Saturday 27 March 2010 at 8.30pm
We want a billion people around the world to switch off their lights for one hour, WWF’s Earth Hour, to show they care about people
and wildlife threatened by climate change. WWF’s Earth Hour provides a fun and effective way of giving students a voice in tackling
climate change, and your participation is crucial to its success!
Watch this WWF-UK video to find out more: http://earthhour.wwf.org.uk/about_earth_hour/aboutearthhour/

What do you think of these initiatives?

Do you take part in them?

Are they useful to make people aware of what's going on?

Please send your comments!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

thegreenroombar.wordpress.com/2009/03/
thelands.wordpress.com/.../
http://www.st-patricks-day.com/

"Welcome to St-Patricks-Day.com for 2010!Dedicated to the Irish & Irish at Heart all around the World. St. Patrick's Day is celebrated by the Irish and Irish at Heart in big cities and small towns alike with parades, "wearing of the green," music and songs, Irish food and drink, and activities for kids such as crafts, coloring and games. Its a time for fun. Some communities even go so far as to dye rivers or streams green! See all the Parades & Events going on around the World to celebrate St Patricks Day 2010 http://www.st-patricks-day.com/

Well now St. Patrick's Day wouldn't exist if not for the man himself! But how much do we know about him? Did you know that he spent six years of slavery in Ireland until he escaped and undertook religious training abroad? Read more about this great man!

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig is the Gaelic way of expressing a wish that you have all the blessings of St Patrick's Day and the "luck of the Irish" to go with it. There are many humorous explanations for this expression. One comes from the legend of the 'Little People' of the land, know as leprechauns. Finding or catching a leprechaun (who would then give you gold) was a lucky event that could only take place in Ireland ! The Irish are descendants of great Celtic and Viking fighters and invaders. Their natural fighting skills often ensured survival & hence they became known as the 'lucky' people .a classic case of making your own luck ! But then "The Luck of the Irish" may all be legend.Saint Patricks Day Parades Worldwide, Irish Pubs all around the globe, Fun Runs, Irish Associations, Irish Music Festivals, Irish Names, Irish Dancing Schools,Irish Music Irish Roots, Irish Festivals,Scottish Highland Games USA & Canada, as well as, Scottish Pipes & Drum Bands.St Patricks Day is for thinking about our Saint as well as a time to think of loved ones across the water.So, why is it celebrated on March 17th? One theory is that that is the day that St. Patrick died. Since the holiday began in Ireland, it is believed that as the Irish spread out around the world, they took with them their history and celebrations. The biggest observance of all is, of course, in Ireland. With the exception of restaurants and pubs, almost all businesses close on March 17th. Being a religious holiday as well, many Irish attend mass, where March 17th is the traditional day for offering prayers for missionaries worldwide before the serious celebrating begins".

May be some of the readers of this blog have attended some time St. Patrick's celebration and is eager to tell us!! You are all welcome, take a virtual"green pen" and start telling us. Happy St. Patrick's! Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig!!

And some practice for your ears: do not miss these great videos on St. Patrick's Day: history, traditions, parades...

********* http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

WORDS AND NOTEBOOKS

Last week, one of our students, Cristina, asked me to help her while studying vocabulary as it was very hard for her to learn new words by heart or to remember them when writing, for instance.

I told her that in my case, repetition had made wonders but it was boring.

I forgot to tell her (Cristina, pay attention!)it is also very useful to keep lists at hand or to group vocabulary: positive adjectives, negative ones, verbs expressing ways of looking, synonymes for very used words, verb lists, etc.

Notebooks are not easy to carry, we don't usually have them at hand while working or are too big for our needs (whenever you learn the words you don't need those words anymore but the notebook is not full!!)

Well, here's the answer to our needs, and another step into recycling.

Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord is an amazing woman, she is really in love with books (specially books made for children and teaches them how to make them too) and just with cereal boxes, elastics, little sticks or just used sheets and nothing else, has solved our problem: a handy useful and temporary vocabulary notebook (the hot dog booklet) we can adapt for our purposes by listening (more practice for your ears) to her nice and clear directions. Have a good time!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YX5jp1hqUG4

**Susan Kapuscinski Gaylord:

"I've been making books in schools, libraries, and with my family for twenty years. My primary goal is always to make it easy and fun. It is my pleasure and delight to share what I have learned and bring the joy of making books to you. "

Making books Blog http://makingbookswithchildren.blogspot.com/

Web site http://www.makingbooks.com/

Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/skgaylord

By the way, more ideas or suggestions to learn vocabulary are welcome!!!

MORE ON ALTERNATIVE ENERGIES by our students

Two of our students have sent very interesting information to our practice forum for unit 2, which I'd like to bring here as well, for you to read.

Sandra Karina Romo Quezada told us about this amazing " stadium in Japan that collects people's vibrations and then generates energy":

Misako Park Stadium, stadium capable of generating energy through the vibrations of the fansPosted Mar 10, 2010 by Ken
Several systems are currently used to generate energy cleanly from the most popular based on solar panels or windmills to others not so famous, such as those that are fed by vibration.
(UpVery.com) Mar 10, 2010 -- Several systems are currently used to generate energy cleanly from the most popular based on solar panels or windmills to others not so famous, such as those that are fed by vibration.An example of this type of system (implemented recently and still in testing) can be found in the football stadium Misaki Park Stadium in Kobe (Japan), home of Vissel Kobe, which uses the vibrations produced by the fans for energy . You what?Let me explain. What they have done is install a number of special plates located at the foot of fans able to collect the energy generated by their jumps and other movements (eg, a stomp of anger caused by a red card) which is stored for later use. The numbers obtained in the first test is not bad, in a match that lasted produced 8400 watts per second on average and the completion of the flow continued, there were 2320 watts per second.Although not the final solution seems like a great idea, are using the energy generated by the home crowd with its vibrations to feed on the same stage and thus reduce the consumption of energy generated from other less environmentally friendly. To see if hopefully the example is copied by other countries in the world man.

http://www.web-soft-design.com/misako-park-stadium-stadium-capable-of-generating-energy-through-the-vibrations-of-the-fans/

On the other hand, Cristina González Angos told us in the same forum "yesterday I talked with a girl from Oregon about alternative energies (...) and she said to me that in her country there is a gym where you can generate energy when you are running in the machine. I was amazed and she gave me the web page: http://rerev.com/howitworks.htm

The gym environment is an ideal setting to capture a large amount of consistent kinetics with little up front cost by utilizing existing infrastructure.
HUMAN ENERGY Kinetic energy from your workout is converted to DC (Direct Current) and sent to the ReRev System.
CURRENT CONVERTS ReRev converts the DC current into AC (Alternating Current), the form of electricity used by homes and businesses.
RENEWABLE ENERGY The electricity can then be used to power the building.

Thanks for your gripping contributions, it's good to check we are all thinking of alternative energies and ALREADY using them in some places not to exhaust, our so much battered planet!

MORE ON SHRINKS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS

http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/psychoanalysis.asp

shrink
n.
1. a. The act of shrinking.

b. The degree to which something shrinks; shrinkage.

2. Slang A psychotherapist.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/shrink

Browsing around in the internet, looking for information about our unit's topic of these weeks, I've come across the most unexpected things about it...

Puppets? What for?

Blogs by Psychiatrists for Psyquiatrists...but no one has to listen!

Of course cartoons, books, art...

What do you think?

Do It Yourself Book of Freudian Psychoanalysis

http://us.macmillan.com/shrinkyourself

Freud's insights are everywhere in 20th-century literature. But, from Virginia Woolf to Philip Roth, psychoanalysts have been given short shrift in fiction, lacking the inner life that is their trade.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/feb/16/featuresreviews.guardianreview2

Celebrities and shrinks:

Britney Spears A Hot Topic For Shrinks

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/01/23/entertainment/main3744988.shtml

Psychoanalysis FAQ

http://www.wawhite.org/index.php?page=psychoanalysis-faq

Dinah, ClinkShrink, & Roy introduce Shrink Rap: a blog by Psychiatrists for Psychiatrists. A place to talk; no one has to listen. All patient vignettes are confabulated; the psychiatrists, however, are mostly real. --Topics include psychotherapy, humor, depression, bipolar, anxiety, schizophrenia, medications, antidepressants, antipsychotics, ethics, psychopharmacology, forensic and correctional psychiatry, psychology, mental health, chocolate, and emotional support ducks. Don't ask.

http://psychiatrist-blog.blogspot.com/2008/05/psychoanalysis-of-oliver-sacks.html

The Country Shrink
A psychologist from rural America comments on psychology, psychiatry, religion, and politics.

http://thecountryshrink.com/tag/psychoanalysis/index.html

PSYCHOANALYST PUPPETS???

Tell me, how do you feel about finger puppets?
Go nuts with this set of psychoanalyst puppets, including Freud (the father of psychoanalysis), his daughter Anna Freud (a noted child therapist), Carl Jung (king of the collective unconscious). Comes with a red chaise lounge so the shrinks can take turns shrinking each other.
You and your friends can debate psychological theory, reenact the friendship and breakup of Freud and Jung, and turn psychoanalytical theory on its head! The box converts to a puppet theater. Made in China.
http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=12060

ART:

Shrink art -- many of us have seen it. I'm not talking about shrunken objects or about things wrapped in clear plastic. I'm referring to something more intimate and private, something many of us have knowledge of but rarely mention: the art and objects that grace the offices of the therapists and analysts we have known. Shelburne Thurber, "Psychoanalytic Interiors,"

http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/features/jsaltz/saltz4-2-04.asp

SHRINKS AND PSYCHOALYSIS

picture source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier_Crane

In Unit three (SHRINKS AND PSYCHOANALYSIS) EXERCISE 7, you can read this: "Kara Bazzi is a licensed marriage and family therapist in the Seattle area (...)"
Do you know Cheers spinoff FRASIER? Dr. Frasier Crane also lives in this area, we can say he is a therapist, as well, but is a totally different professional!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbjUL9Er-Yg

Frasier Winslow Crane, M.D., Ph.D., A.P.A. is a fictional character on the American television sitcoms Frasier and Cheers. He was played by Kelsey Grammer for 20 years, tying the record for the longest-running character on prime-time American television, which was set by James Arness, who played Marshal Matt Dillon on the show Gunsmoke. Grammer received Emmy Award nominations for portraying Crane on three different NBC shows, including a 1992 guest appearance on Wings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frasier_Crane

What's wrong with shrinks and this topic? Some never want to say they are visiting one!
Let's see what this unit brings...