Winter Solstice


The December solstice marks the longest night in Northern Hemisphere and longest day in the Southern Hemisphere. Celebration time!
Late dawn. Early sunset. Short day. Long night. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, the December solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. Meanwhile, the Southern Hemisphere is having its longest day and shortest night.


If you live near the equator, you won’t notice much difference in the amount of sunlight you receive throughout the year. The biggest noticeable difference is at the poles, where each solstice brings an extreme in the hours of sunlight you receive; in summer the Sun never properly sets for weeks, and in winter it never rises, creating some of the most inhospitable environments on Earth.

Stonehenge Winter Solstice Sunset

The earliest people on Earth knew that the sun’s path across the sky, the length of daylight, and the location of the sunrise and sunset all shifted in a regular way throughout the year. They built monuments such as Stonehenge in England – or, for example, at Machu Picchu in Peru – to follow the sun’s yearly progress.

The word solstice comes from Latin Sol (sun) and sistere (to not move), winter solstice meaning Sun standstill in winter.

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Somos luz - We are light. Documental con subtítulos en inglés

Documental en español con subtítulos en inglés sobre la acción artística que BoaMistura realizó en El Chorrilo, Panamá, en marzo de 2013. 

Boa Mistura is an urban art group formed at the end of 2001 in Madrid, Spain. The term "Boa Mistura", from the portuguese for "good mixture", refers to the diversity of perspectives of each member. Distinct visions which complement each other, and combine to create something unique and coherent. 
The collective is composed by the Architect Javier Serrano "Pahg", the Civil Engineer Rubén Martín "rDick", Pablo Purón "Purone", graduated in Advertising and Public Relations, and two Fine Art graduated: Pablo Ferreiro "Arkoh" and Juan Jaume "Derko". 
The group works mainly on the public space, and have developed projects in South Africa, Norway, Berlin, Sao Paulo or Río de Janeiro. Boa Mistura have taken part in exhibitions in art galleries such as the "Museo Reina Sofía", "Casa Encendida" and the "Museo DA2". They have collaborated with foundations like ONCE, Red Cross, Oxfam and Antonio Gala, and given lectures at universities such as Madrid, Seville, Cuenca or Alcalá de Henares.


SOMOS LUZ English Subtitles from boamistura on Vimeo.



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Adverbs of frecuency

How often do you ...?

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Sight, a short sci-fi film

"Sight" es un cortometraje de ciencia ficción, pero ¿seguirá siendo ciencia ficción dentro de unos años?  May-raz y Daniel Lazo nos sitúan en un futuro donde las aplicaciones como Google Glass están por todas partes. Puedes seguir la transcripción más abajo.

Sight, a brilliant and disturbing short sci-fi film by Eran May-raz and Daniel Lazo, imagines a world in which Google Glass-inspired apps are everywhere. This is their graduation project from Bezaleal academy of arts.

SIGHT

Excellent!
Perfect!
Good job!
Excellent!
Well done!
+++ complete

Welcome

Snails zombies from your backyard

Life is a journey, and in this journey we all want to do more, experience more, feel more, and live with no boundaries. And why shouldn't we? Sight-Systems presents Sight-Seeing. Feel free to go anywhere.
Reminder:
Date at 9 pm. Choose outfit.

Patrick. Patrick?
Oh! Hi! Hi Daphne, how are you?
Sorry
It's OK
You look great
Thank you
A new jacket
Thanks. It's actually, it's a... it's a sports jacket, so... so that's, that's official +++ looks.
What do you mean?
Sorry?
What's the difference between a sports jacket and a normal one?
I guess a sports jacket is for... people who want to look good even when they're chased by the police. Ha ha.
Oh, yeah.
Anyway, I hope you're hungry as this place has the best burgers in town.
Oh, actually I'm vegetarian
Oh
Yeah
Really? Cause... cause you didn't say it in your profile, so...
Well, I don't write everything on my profile, so...
Uh, you wanna go somewhere else?
No, no, no, no, i't ok. I'll find something on the menu.
Well, how about a glass of wine for starters.
Yea, great.
So... are there... any other things in your profile that you didn't write about that I should know, or...

Aren't you scared of jogging by yourself in the city?
Not really. Besides, I'm about to hit level 5 in Marathon Master.
Pretty impressive!
I know, ha ha. Mm, what is scary, though, from my last route, my sight crashed. So scary. I didn't see anything, I couldn't find my way home.
Sight doesn't crash
Oh, it did! I was totally lost, I didn't see anything.
That doesn't happen since their last pack.
Do you work there or something?... really?
Yeah...
Wow! What do you do there?
Nothing serious, I'm just a simple engineer.
Actually, I read about your company in the news
Uh
Is it true that you guys ++++ and manipulate people's sights?
No. It is bullshit. But anyway, I don't wanna talk about work. Not when I'm here with such a pretty lady.

You know, you really got me.
You know, I can tell what you thinking right now.
Really? What?
Well, finished our drinks what are we going to do?
ha ha
How about we go to my place, for a nightcap?
Well, if you're so good at reading my mind, you should know what I'm going to say.

Here it is, +++++
Nice place you got here
It's alright, I guess.
A toast for a perfect night.

+++
What's that? A dating app?
No, no, no, no, no.
Oh my God, I cannot believe this, just my luck, a freaking gay junkie. Disgusting!
Wait
Do not touch me, you creep!
I said wait... And let's try this again.


Credits: 
Daniel Lazo
Eran May-raz
Hanan Revivo
Boaz Bachrach
Actors: 
Ori Golad 
Deborah Aroshas

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10 English Idioms for Communication & Miscommunication

Con el siguiente vídeo podrás entender expresiones como "Ir directamente al grano" o "andarse por las ramas". ¿Cómo traducirías los siguientes idioms ingleses al español?

1. to drop someone a line: to contact someone by phone or email
2. to get ahold of someone: to contact someone (usually by phone)
3. to keep someone posted / to keep someone in the loop: update, inform someone about recent information
4. to hear through the grapevine: to hear the news indirectly, not directly from a person involved
5. to beat around the bush: to avoid talking directly about the main issue
6. to get right to the point: to talk directly about the main issue
7. to talk at cross-purposes: to talk about two completely different issues
8. to get their wires crossed: mistake in communication leading to a misunderstanding
9. to be playing phone tag: to telephone each other several times, but not be available to talk
10. to put your foot in your mouth: to feel ashamed of what you just said.

Pincha aquí para ver el vídeo. Comprueba tu pronunciación y entonación.


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Charla con subtítulos del fotógrafo Iwan Baan

El fotógrafo Iwan Baan nos muestra cómo la gente construye hogares en lugares insospechados, guiándonos por los apartamentos familiares de la Torre de David, un rascacielos de 45 pisos inacabado y abandonado en el centro de Caracas, por una ciudad sobre el agua en Nigeria, y por un pueblo subterráneo en China. Sus magníficas imágenes celebran la capacidad de la humanidad para sobrevivir y construir una casa en cualquier lugar.
Escucha la charla que ofreció en TED y guíate con los subtítulos en español. Después puedes escucharla de nuevo con subtítulos en inglés y mejorar tu pronunciación.




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Advanced reading: Young and Educated in Europe, but Desperate for Jobs

Artículo de New York Times sobre el desempleo y la emigración de los jóvenes europeos. Este contexto nos resulta muy familiar. Trata de buscar el menor número de palabras en el diccionario y sacar su significado por el contexto. Anota las que quieras buscar para comprobar luego su significado y su pronunciación.

to spring, sprang, sprung: brotar, saltar
to tremble: temblar
to clutch: agarrar, aferrar
rare: raro, excepcional,
flicker: parpadeo, destello

Continue reading the New York Times article, by Liz Alderman…
                                       Photo: Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times

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Advanced Reading: ¡Asilo para Snowden! / Asylum for Snowden!


El titular de Der Spiegel: “¡Asilo para Snowden!”, indica por fortuna el creciente apoyo de la opinión pública a una exigencia tan justa. Quienes contemplan las cosas sin prejuicios y se sublevan contra el espionaje del Gran Hermano previsto por Orwell tanto en el caso de las dictaduras y regímenes autoritarios como en el de las tecnocracias de Occidente, deben hacerse oír y hacer suya la consigna del semanario alemán.

The Asylum for Snowden! headline in Der Spiegel fortunately indicates a groundswell in public opinion in favor of so just a demand. Those who look at things without prejudice, and who are revolted by the spying of Big Brother prophesied by Orwell on the part both of dictatorships and of authoritarian regimes like the technocracies of the West, must now speak up and make the German weekly’s demand their own.

Sigue leyendo el artículo de Juan Goitisolo en El País, en inglés y en español


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Photographer Alberto García-Alix among the four nomenees for the Deutsche Börse photography prize 2014


El fotógrafo Alberto García-Alix entre los cuatro nominados en el Deutsche Börse photography prize 2014

Nomenee = nominado, candidato.
The pick of the bunch = lo mejor de lo mejor, la flor y nata.
Quiff = tupé.
Photography buff = amante de la fotografía,
Mischievous = travieso, pillo.


Continue reading the article in TheGuardian, by Sean O’Hagan… 

Self-Portrait with Ana Curra, 1984. Photograph: Alberto García-Alix

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Pasado y Futuro. English Language Learning Tips - Tenses Part 1

En este vídeo de Cambridge English TV puedes aprender tiempos en presente, pasado y futuro.
Con ejemplos como I go skiing every year (voy a esquiar todos los años), I am skiing right now (estoy esquiando ahora)







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Listening lesson. Going to the Gym

Ejercicio para mejorar pronunciación, entonación y reforzar lectura, con ejercicios (y respuestas). No te preocupes por la traducción de alguna palabra y saca su significado por el contexto.

Entra en este gimnasio, escucha la conversación y léela después con la misma pronunciación y entonación que has oído.

courtesy of oxford online english




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Merry Christmas (I don't want to fight tonight) by Ramones

Vocals: Joey Ramone
Guitar: Johnny Ramone
Bass: Studio Version:Dee Dee Ramone/Video:CJ Ramone
Drums:Marky Ramone
The Ramones, Merry Christmas pincha aquí


Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight 
Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight 
Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight with you

Where is Santa? At his sleigh? 
Tell me why is it always this way? 
Where is Rudolph? Where is Blitzen, baby? 
Merry Christmas, merry merry merry Christmas

All the children are tucked in their beds 
Sugar-plum fairies dancing in their heads 
Snowball fighting, it's so exciting baby

I love you and you love me 
And that's the way it's got to be 
I loved you from the start 
'Cause Christmas ain't the time for breaking each other's hearts

Where is Santa? At his sleigh? 
Tell me why is it always this way? 
Where is Rudolph? Where is Blitzen, baby? 
Merry Christmas, merry merry merry Christmas

All the children are tucked in their beds 
Sugar-plum fairies dancing in their heads 
Snowball fighting, it's so exciting baby

Yeah, yeah, yeah

I love you and you love me 
And that's the way it's got to be 
I loved you from the start 
'Cause Christmas ain't the time for breaking each other's hearts

Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight 
Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight 
Merry Christmas, I don't want to fight tonight with you

Brain Drain is the eleventh studio album by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released on March 23, 1989 through Sire Records. It is the last release to feature bass player Dee Dee Ramone, the first release to feature Marky Ramone since his departure after Subterranean Jungle, and the last studio album on Sire Records.


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Flight 666 to HEL

Are you superstitious? 
Would you take this flight?

Pilot of Finnair flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki says he is not superstitious about flying on unlucky date. Read this from The Guardian and find out why you shoudn't be worried.



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Algunas características personales. Pronunciación y explicación.

Vídeo con pronunciación y explicación en inglés de algunas características personales como tímido, perezoso, modesto, hablador, interesante, sociable, optimista, alegre. Play video

Are you "outgoing", "reliable", "shy"?
Learn more about personal qualities. 


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Algunos modismos relacionados con partes del cuerpo - Body Idioms

Ser todo oídos, echar una mano... Aquí tienes algunos modismos relacionados con partes del cuerpo.
Body idioms.

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Pronunciación vs Acento

English Pronunciation, Enunciation and Elocution

Pronunciation matters – believe me!

Why?

  1. Rightly or wrongly, the way that you speak is one of the first things that people notice about you. People will judge your background, education and social standing just by the way you speak.
  2. Even if you can already communicate in English if you don’t speak clearly, people won’t understand you and they won’t want to talk to you, because it’s just too tiring.
  3. Listening and understanding are also important. If you don’t know how different words are pronounced you will struggle to improve your understanding.
Don’t confuse pronunciation with accent. Good pronunciation doesn’t mean that we all have to talk like the Queen of England. As long as your pronunciation is understandable and pleasant that’s fine, if people struggle to understand you then you may need to try and reduce your accent, but unless you are an actor, and you need to play different roles, or you want to become a spy, it’s not worth trying to get rid of your accent.
That said, successful speaking is more than just knowing how to pronounce words correctly.
Enunciation is is the act of speaking clearly and concisely, making each word sound as clear as possible, without sounding as if you think the person you are talking to is an idiot.
Elocution is about putting the right emphasis and nuance into what you are saying. Even kids born and bred in the UK take elocution lessons.

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Conjunciones adversativas - Contrast connectors

Adversative Connectors - Conectores adversativos:

Añaden una negación a la frase anteriormente mencionada, una frase opuesta a la otra. 
Por ejemplo: but, however, yet, still, instead, on the contrary.

but - pero
He spoke clearly, but I didn't understand him.
Habló claramente pero no lo entendí

however - sin embargo 
They were not having fun; however they stayed until the party was over.
Ellos no se estaban divirtiendo; sin embargo se quedaron hasta que la fiesta terminó.

nonetheless / nevertheless - sin embargo
It was very stormy; nevertheless we went fishing.
Estaba muy tormentoso; sin embargo fuimos de pesca.
She had no experience; nonetheless she got the job.
Ella no tenía experiencia; sin embargo consiguió el trabajo.

yet / even so - sin embargo, aun así
He was a very good swimmer; even so, he drowned.
El era un muy buen nadador; aún así, se ahogó.
He wanted to reply to that accusation, yet he didn't.
El quería contestar a esa acusación; sin embargo no lo hizo.

still - sin embargo
He can't speak very well; still he understands everything.
No puede hablar muy bien, sin embargo, entiende todo.

instead - en su lugar, en lugar de ello
I was invited to a party on Saturday, but went to bed instead.
Fui invitado a una fiesta el sábado, pero me fui a dormir en lugar de ello.
I am not going out tonight. Instead, I will stay home and cook something.
No saldré esta noche. En cambio, me quedaré en casa y cocinaré algo.

on the contrary - por el contrario
The boy is not dumb; on the contrary, he's very smart for his age.
El muchacho no es tonto; al contrario él es muy inteligente para su edad.



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Estructura WANT + TO (infinitive)

El verbo TO WANT siempre va seguido de infinitivo con TO
En el siguiente enlace podrás practicar la estructura y aplicarla a otros verbos que también la usan, como would like, ask, expect, help, mean, allow, order, need...

subject + Want + object + infinitive with to

I want + (I go) = I want to go / I want + (he goes) = I want him to go.



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Connectors. Conjunciones.

Los conectores o conjunciones son palabras que usamos para unir dos o más frases o dos palabras dentro de la misma oración. Aquí tienes los conectores más comunes agrupados en categorías.



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Lou Reed - Perfect day



Just a perfect day
drink sangria in the park
And then later when it gets dark
we go home
Just a perfect day
feed animals in the zoo
Then later a movie too
and then home
Oh, it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
you just keep me hanging on
Just a perfect day
problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
it’s such fun
Just a perfect day
you made me forget myself
I thought I was someone else
someone good
Oh, it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
you just keep me hanging on
You’re going to reap just what you sow                           to reap: cosechar  /  to sow: sembrar
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow

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Arcade Fire - Reflektor

Arcade Fire – Reflektor Lyrics
on rap genius


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New York I love you. LCD Sounsystem


Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Song: New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down
Album: Sound of Silver
Released: 2007
Label: DFA Records/Capitol Records
Lyrics:
New York, I Love You
But you’re bringing me down                        to bring down: hacer desaparecer/caer; hundir;                                                                                  abatir
New York, I Love You
But you’re bringing me down
Like a rat in a cage                                         cage: jaula
Pulling minimum wage                                 to pull: estirar           wage: salario
New York, I Love You
But you’re bringing me down
New York, you’re safer
And you’re wasting my time
Our records all show
You are filthy but fine                                    filthy: sucio, asqueroso
But they shuttered your stores                       to shutter: cerrar
When you opened the doors
To the cops who were bored
Once they’d run out of crime                         they’d = they had      to run out of (something):                                                                                                                        quedarse sin (algo)
New York, you’re perfect
Don’t please don’t change a thing
Your mild billionaire mayor’s                          mild: tierno, suave, apacible
Now convinced he’s a king
So the boring collect
I mean all disrespect
In the neighborhood bars
I’d once dreamt I would drink
New York, I Love You
But you’re freaking me out                          to freak (somebody) out: asustar,
                                                                       poner los pelos de punta (a alguien)   
There’s a ton of the twist                              Referencing The Beatle’s “Twist & Shout,”                                                                                               implies that New York still has the culture, 
                                                                       just not the pep and excitement it once had.
But we’re fresh out of shout                        
Like a death in the hall
That you hear through your wall
New York, I Love You
But you’re freaking me out
New York, I Love You
But you’re bringing me down
New York, I Love You
But you’re bringing me down
Like a death of the heart
Jesus, where do I start?
But you’re still the one pool
Where I’d happily drown                                    to drown: ahogarse
And oh.. Take me off your mailing list
For kids that think it still exists
Yes, for those who think it still exists
Maybe I’m wrong
And maybe you’re right
Maybe I’m wrong
And myabe you’re right
Maybe you’re right
Maybe I’m wrong
And just maybe you’re right
And Oh..
Maybe mother told you true
And they’re always be something there for you
And you’ll never be alone
But maybe she’s wrong
And maybe I’m right
And just maybe she’s wrong
Maybe she’s wrong
And maybe I’m right
And if so, here is this song

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How to Improve Your English Pronunciation. Mejora tu pronunciación en inglés

Con este vídeo aprenderás que la pronunciación es muy importante, no tiene que ser "perfecta" pero sí lo suficientemente buena como para que se te entienda. Y te servirá de ejercicio para mejorar tu pronunciación.





courtesy of espresso english


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Humor, serie Little Britain: Carol in Spain.

Vídeo de 2 min de la serie de humor Little Britain, con transcripciones y explicaciones. En este capítulo, Carol Beer trabaja en  algún lugar de las islas Baleares como agente de turismo. Pero no parece estar muy interesada en su trabajo, como siempre.
ver vídeo


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Hong Kong honey



Hong Kong honey
Read the transcription and choose the right word between brackets


Hong Kong Honey. Play video

Hong Kong’s a really intense city. It’s the city that never sleeps.
Hong Kong Honey is really an organization. It’s not a company and it’s not a money-making project.
It’s really about connecting local people with local beekeepers and (1) supplying / fulfilling /
distributing them with local honey.

A lot of people actually think bees are naturally aggressive and likely to (2) sting / bite / buzz. I (3) discovered / hit on / came across that they’re actually really quite friendly and they’re only likely to (4) sting / bite / buzz if you agitate them in any way or cause any threat to them.
There’s not really that many (5) green spaces / vegetation / foliage within the city and so it was
always going to be a (6) dare / challenge / breakthrough to see if bees can actually survive and
harvest honey in the city

People are very (7) detached / unaware / uninterested from where their food actually comes
from. Food, or the origins of food, has kind of become a mystery now. Bees actually help pollinate (8) nearby / precisely/ roughly one third of our food. Without them, we’d be in (9) big /
seriously / important trouble; we’d have to do hand pollination.

I (10) check on / look into / call on the bees and open the hives about once a week. When I’m
working with the bees, I move very slowly, I’m really relaxed so everything’s really calm, it’s almost Zen-like.

I got this email from this young woman and her (11) ancient / old / elderly mother was actually
interested in keeping bees on her rooKop. Her mother grew up in the really rural part of China and her father was actually a beekeeper so she has this natural connection to nature and also to bees.

We moved the beehive to a roof and it makes me happy to think that she can (12) dwell on /
reminisce / look down on and think about her childhood when she grew up on the farm.

My name’s Michael Leung. I live in Yau Ma Tei in Hong Kong and I’m a product designer and beekeeper.



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