The Killers´"Land Of The Free"

There is so much talk about the U.S.-Mexico wall on the news these days, what with President Trump´s government shutdown, the migrant caravan....and then The Killers said "enough is enough" and released the song "Land Of The Free", whose video has been directed by Spike Lee.

"Land Of The Free" is a politically charged song that condemns the border wall and institutional racism at the same time that it confronts gun violence.

Read a reflection on this song from the magazine RollingStone: click here.

Phonetics: Practice

Practice your pronunciation and phonetics with this puzzle: 

Song: Josh Ritter´s "Getting Ready to Get Down"

Josh Ritter´s  song `Getting ready to Get Down´.... see if you can sing it along....I am afraid it is a little bit too fast...

“Getting Ready to Get Down” lyrics:

Mama got a look at you and got a little worried
Papa got a look at you and got a little worried
Pastor got a look and said, "Ya'll had better hurry"
Send her off to a little bible college in Missouri
And now you come back sayin' you know a little bit about
Everything they ever seemed to hope you'd never figure out
Eve ate the apple 'cause the apple was sweet
What kinda god would ever keep a girl
From getting what she needs?
And I'm getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down

Now people cross the street when you walk in their direction
Talk between their teeth throwin' epithets
And the doctor thinks a devil musta got you by your senses
But to live the way you please doesn't sound like possession
Four long years studyin' the Bible
Infidels, jezebels, salomes, and delilahs
Back off the bus in your own home town
Sayin' you didn't like me then probably won't like me now
But I'm getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down

The men of the country club
The ladies of the 'xilliary
Talkin' 'bout love
Like it's apple pie and libery
To really be a saint
You gotta really be a virgin
Dry as a page of the
King James Version
No ohh la la's, no oh yesses yesses
No I can't waits I got to see you againses
Turn your other cheek and take no chances
Jesus hates your high school dances

They said your soul needed savin' so they sent you off to bible school
But you know a little more than they were sure was in the golden rule
Be good to everybody, be a strength to the weak
A joy to the joyful, the laughter in the grief
And give your love freely to whoever that you please
Don't let noboy tell you 'bout who you oughta be
And when you get damned in the popular opinion
It's just another damn of the damns you're not giving
I'm getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down

Mama got a look at you and got a little worried
Papa got a look at you and got a little worried
Pastor got a look and said, "Ya'll had better hurry"
Send her off to a little bible college in Missouri
And now you come back sayin' you know a little bit about
Everything they ever seemed to hope you'd never figure out
The Red Sea, the Dead Sea, the Sermon on the Mount
If you wanna see a miracle watch me get down
Cause I'm getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down
Getting ready to get down

In the mood for a dance? Follow the steps in the video below, the official dancing music video:

Modals: Perfect Modals

Should have, could have, and would have are sometimes called "modals of lost opportunity" because they describe situations when we are imagining that the past was different.

New Year´s Resolutions for 2019

Do you make New Year´s resolutions? What are they?

 

Watch the video below and list Bob Dylan´s top ten New Year´s resolutions; the images will help you understand his strong American accent. Once you have written your list, check it with the list you will find below the video

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Exercise more
3. Lose weight
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others and volunteer
10. Get organised

Here is a good one, as far as New Year´s resolutions go in relation to school (and English classes): the best attitude to come back to school in January 2019 is "No Excuses". Watch UW-Whitewater Wheelchair Basketball Player Matt Scott  in Nike 'No Excuses' Commercial.

Christmas 2018

Disturbing Christmas wishes: an inspired bit of Xmas fun from Terry Gillian; it originally aired in 1968 on the British TV show for kids, Do Not Adjust Your Set

Enjoy your Xmas Break!

`Brexit¨

This is a video from 2016 but it is still helpful to understand the chaos related to the meaning of `Brexit´, both in the UK and in the EU.

Katie Melua´s "Nine Million Bicycles"

Fact or opinion? Can you identify examples of both of them in this song by  Georgian-British singer song-writer Katie Melua? And then sing along to practise pronunciation and intonation

Violence Against Women

Transport for London has released this video which follows a woman’s journey where she experiences escalating incidents of unwanted sexual behaviour on the tube. Watch the film and decide at which point you’d report it. 

This film is part of the ‘Report it to stop it’ campaign which aims to increase reporting of unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport because 10% of passengers are said to experience unwanted sexual behaviour on public transport in London, but only 1 in 10 will report it. 

Click on CC to get the subtitles- in case you need them. By the way, the voiceover seems to be Dame Emma Thompson´s, whose last film, The Children Act, I strongly recommend - watch its trailer below.

Giving Tuesday 2018

Today, Tuesday 27th, November, is `giving Tuesday.´

Celebrated on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, after Black Friday and Cyber Monday, popular celebrations associated to spending, "giving Tuesday" starts the charitable season associated to the end-of-the-year spirit of giving.

Learn more about it: click here.