Dan Gilbert: The surprising science of happiness

Please share, what is happiness for you?

Movie Review

Choose your group, follow the link, and watch the trailer.

Comment on the movies.Talk about the genre, acting, directing, and other parts of the movie.

Share YOUR OWN thoughts and ideas.

Express YOUR opinion!

Where is Matt? 2008

Just answer one simple question:

What is YOUR place to dance?

Belinda Carlisle - California

What cultural information do songs teach us?

Find as much as you can in this song.

Share your essays in the comment box.

Songwriters: COMPTON, JOHN PARKER

I remember I was in the tanning salon
When I heard that River Phoenix was gone
They say that only the good die young
But that ain't true where I come from
California...California

It took a lot for me to say
I want to walk away, LA
From the sharks and the Chardonnay
In California...California

4 in the morning we were in our beds
The swaying palm trees above our heads
Woke up to a primal rumbling sound
When the Northridge quake ripped open the ground
California...California

It took a lot for me to say
I want to walk away LA
From the sharks and the Chardonnay
In California... In California
Golden State, I'm back in the Golden State
Golden State of Mind

McDonald's Commercial

Fast food:

are you for it or against it?

Please express your ideas below in the comment box! 

Leave your name and the number of your group, please.

Be Positive – Do Something Day

Be Positive – Do Something Day is on March 1st. It is our chance to make a difference in the world and do something positive. It might change our lives for the better. It often seems as though the world is full of negative news, negative people and negative images. This day is for you to reverse this. An Australian man, Harold Cameron, created this day. He has a lifetime’s experience of turning negatives into positives. Harold says on the Be Positive website: “I was born sickly as a child. It was thought that I would never live, but I did.” He explains how he overcame being abandoned as a child, abuse, drugs, the death of close family members and other setbacks. Every time he bounced back through positive thinking.

One of Harold’s messages is do not procrastinate. Do it today, not tomorrow. He says if you put things off for another day, they usually never get done. He has many suggestions about what to do on this day. Here are a few. See what you think. How about speaking a positive word to someone first thing in the morning or posting a positive message somewhere for everyone to read? Speak a positive word to the first people you meet at school or at work. Harold also suggests donating things from your home you no longer use or need to people in need. Be Positive – Do Something Day might also be a good time to get your life moving in the direction you want it to go. Write down your biggest life goal and go for it. You can do it.

(from: http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/)

Think globally, act locally! Have you ever done / thought of doing something of the kind?

The Twins Teaching a Coastal Town to Clean Up Its Act
Between ballet lessons and tae kwon do, these twin sisters rally to protect the earth.

By Beth Dreher from Reader's Digest February 2012

Who: Allison and Jillian Samowitz, 15
What: Boosting their town’s “green IQ”
Where: Golden Beach, Florida

The images were shocking: Allison Samowitz and her twin sister, Jillian, watched the 2010 BP oil spill on TV with their hearts sinking. “We live right on the beach, and we heard about tarballs and how the spill affected the ocean’s ecosystem,” says Allison. “It was just devastating, and we were afraid it would happen here.” The coastal towns along the Gulf of Mexico didn’t feel that far away from their little Golden Beach anymore.

The sisters studied the conservation habits of their friends and neighbors. “We’re a small town of 360 homes, and we found out only 20 percent of them recycled!” Allison says incredulously.

Moved to act, they first planned a town fair with demonstrations about how ordinary people could make lasting changes to the environment. They persuaded 12 local companies to join them and attracted a crowd of about 200 people. On the scene were hybrid cars and booths where volunteers and company representatives accepted used electronic equipment, eyeglasses, books, and sneakers — all for recycling. The girls are planning another fair this year.

“It’s an education campaign,” says Allison. “People don’t know, but there are so many simple things they can do every day that can become second nature.”
Adds their dad, Harvey, “They’re basically optimists.”

Allison now reports on the environment for her school’s television station. Both girls lend their time to various recycling projects around town, such as giving old toys to children’s charities and collecting used crayons — which are often dumped in landfills — to melt down for reuse.

And should anyone think that they’re awfully single-minded, the sisters have a healthy set of other interests: ballet, tae kwon do, lacrosse, and deep-sea diving with their dad. “We, I, blink — that’s my sleep,” says Allison.

Reader's Digest 15 Top Jokes of 2011

What is the funniest joke for you?

http://www.rd.com/slideshows/15-top-jokes-of-2011/

Social networking

What social networks do you use?
What is your general opinion on social networking?

Weather

John Ruskin said, "There is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."

What do you think of this quote?

Kathryn Schulz: Don't regret regret. After listening to the talk, please answer these questions: 1) What is the main idea the speaker wants to bring to our notice? and 2) Do you ever regret something?

What are you determined to make out of your life?

And how do you share stories?

It's Good To Be King

Please follow the lyrics and say, "What is the main idea of the song?"
Leave your comments in the comment box.
It's good to be king, if just for a while
To be there in velvet, yeah, to give 'em a smile
It's good to get high, and never come down
It's good to be king of your own little town

Yeah, the world would swing if I were king
Can I help it if I still dream time to time

It's good to be king and have your own way
Get a feeling of peace at the end of the day
And when your bulldog barks and your canary sings
You're out there with winners, yeah, it's good to be king

Yeah I'll be king when dogs get wings
Can I help it if I still dream time to time

It's good to be king and have your own world
It helps to make friends, it's good to meet girls
A sweet little queen who can't run away
It's good to be king, whatever it pays

Excuse me if I have some place in my mind
Where I go time to time

World Poetry Day - March 21, 2011

Please check these links:

 Simon Armitage: 'Harmonium' (The Poetry Station) 
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Simon-Armitage-Harmonium-The-Poetry-Station-6068552

 The Patterns of Poetry 1-8
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/The-Patterns-of-Poetry-1-8-6071974/

 Geoffrey Chaucer
http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Geoffrey-Chaucer-6071976/

 Poets.org
http://www.poets.org/

 Poetry 180
http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/

 Poetry Daily
http://poems.com/

Sting - Englishman In New York

1. What main differences between the English and the American cultures are mentioned in the song? What distinguishes an ‘Englishman’?

2. What does ‘a legal alien’ mean in this context?

3. Give definitions of the following words: ignorance, modesty, notoriety, propriety, sobriety.

4. Comment on the following:

If, "Manners maketh man" as someone said

Then he's the hero of the day

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile

Be yourself no matter what they say

Gentleness, sobriety are rare in this society

At night a candle's brighter than the sun

 Takes more than combat gear to make a man

Takes more than a license for a gun

Confront your enemies, avoid them when you can

A gentleman will walk but never run

DREAM YOUR DREAM!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related

Martin Luther King, Jr. "I Have a Dream"

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

 

Bon Jovi - It's My Life

Assignments:

1. Listen to the song following the lyrics.

2. Follow the upper (YouTube) link to learn more on the usage of “ain’t” in American English.

3. Follow the link http://www.brighthub.com/education/languages/articles/40011.aspx to learn more on how to use adjectives as nouns.

4. Further research:

             Who are Bon Jovi’s Tommy and Gina?

             Who is Frankie, the one who did it his way?

5. In your opinion, what words represent the central idea of the song?

LYRICS

It’s My Life

This ain't a song for the broken-hearted

No silent prayer for the faith-departed

I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd

You're gonna hear my voice

When I shout it out loud

[Chorus:]

It's my life

It's now or never

I ain't gonna live forever

I just want to live while I'm alive

(It's my life)

My heart is like an open highway

Like Frankie said

I did it my way

I just wanna live while I'm alive

It's my life

This is for the ones who stood their ground

For Tommy and Gina who never backed down

Tomorrow's getting harder make no mistake

Luck ain't even lucky

Got to make your own breaks

[Chorus:]

Better stand tall when they're calling you out

Don't bend, don't break, baby, don't back down

[Chorus:]