Saint Valentine dialog

Mary: hi John, do you remember what day is today?

John: ehm, mmm. Yes of course. Today it's your mother's birthday. Isn't it?

Mary: no, today is our feast. It's S. Valentine.

John: ok, you know that I love you, so every day is our feast.

Mary: you love me, don't you?

John: yes, I do.

Mary: if you really love me, then marry me. We have been engaged for ten years! When are we going to settle down?

John: Oh Mary, but we moved in together only five years ago. My brother and his wife split up after six years of marriage, I think we should wait for another couple of years.

Mary: Oooh John, isn't it irritating your way of behaving? I think the day of our marriage is never coming up. And I'll tell you another think, I should have never trusted the friends that set us up....

Life is beautiful

By Silviapitt

IT

Il film che voglio descrivere è La vita è bella diretto ed interpretato da Roberto Benigni. Roberto Benigni è uno dei miei attori preferiti, perché i suoi film sono delle comiche divertenti che mi fanno dimenticare per un istante tutto quello che mi accade intorno.

Il film è ambientato durante la seconda guerra mondiale, e, a differenza con gli altri film di benigni, la vita è bella vuole trasmettere un messaggio morale: la crudeltà della guerra e la follia dello sterminio degli ebrei perpretato dai nazisti.
Nella prima parte del film si vede la storia d'amore tra Guido e Dora, il regista usa la narrazione della favola per descrivere il corteggiamento di Guido.
Nella seconda parte del film, che si svolge nel campo di concentramento di Auschwitz, Guido tenta di salvare la vita a suo figlio Giosuè facendogli credere che tutto è un gioco, e per questo il film risulta emozionante e commovente.

Il film ha ricevuto critiche molto favorevoli in Italia e nel resto del mondo. Critiche negative sono state mosse da parte di alcuni ebrei sopravvissuti ai campi di concentramento sulla correttezza etica del fare ridere le persone sull'Olocausto.

EN

The film I’m talking about is Life Is Beautiful directed and starred by Roberto Benigni. Roberto Benigni is one of my favourite actors, because his films are amusing comedies that make me forget for a while all that happens to me during the day.

The movie is set in the Second World War, and, unlike other Benigni's films, Life is beautiful want to communicate two messages: war is to be avoided because is cruel, and, a warning to mankind that can think to exterminate the whole Hebrew people.
In the first half of the film you see the love story between Guido and Dora: the director shows Guido is courting as in a fairytale story.
In the second act of the film, that takes place in the Auschwitz concentration camp, Guido tries to save the life of his child Giosuè, making him believe that everybody are taking part to a game, and so the film is moving.

The film has been favorably reviewed in Italy and in the rest of the world. But negative criticism have been given by  some Jewish survivors of the concentration camps about the ethical fairness of making people laugh about the Holocaust.

The poem in passive form

In the morning, it is said,

That every day I'm dragged from bed

By forces which are aimed to get me

So I'm pushed to school by 8:15.

From my bed I am plucked.

Various clothes are hung upon me.

To myself is served my breakfast,

Which is eaten with much speed;

Indicating my stomach is emptied in the night

By the digestive processes

About which I am taught in class one,

Where I am required to stay awake

Although 8:30 in the morning is clocked

And sleep is needed for my mind.

A yawn is stifled when it is found

That to my pleasure, class is finished.

My way is stumbled towards English,

Which is started with a "Hello, Rhetts!"

The correct response is known to be,

Quite obviously,

"Hello, Wheels!"

It is discovered to class's disappointment,

That the eaten midterm was not destined

To be that which was to be taken by us.

Français is listed as the next,

Where the latest puns are revealed

By the well known expert, LaRivière.

French is learned to some extent

And lunch is welcomed finally

By those of us by whom some luck is had,

And not by others by whom it is not had.

Food is consumed through my mouth,

And the events of the day are spoken through it,

Until the time is reached at last,

When Analysis is to be enjoyed.

It is taught that 2 is made from 1 and 1,

And I am pleased that this is true.

At last the spot is found by the second hand

Where class is ended by a bing.

My way is made to the band room,

Where every day new pieces are played,

After which History is started,

A jovial ending to the day,

And the teacher is shocked by our ability,

When grades are known and it is revealed

That ours are best and we were thoughttobethedumbones.

Then school is halted and the rest of the day

All takes place in the active voice.

Giving advice

Cat lover

Your friend, who has had relationship problems in the past, has announced that he/she has finally found love. The problem is that he/she in now in love with his/her cat.

My advice

Go to a veterinarian and ask him to help you to convince your friend that what he is doing to his cat isn't right for the cat.
Try to say to your friend that the cat should have a mate that is an animal.
Try to tell your friend that if he really loves his cat he should find a cute female cat for his pet.

---

Friend betrayed

You went to another city recently and you saw your best friend's girlfriend/boyfriend holding hands with another man/woman.

My advice

I think you have to tell to your friend what you saw, then it's up to him to decide what to do with his girlfriend.

---

Passionate interviewer

You recently went to a job interview. At the interview you were very nervous and didn't perform very well. You were convinced that you didn't get the job but you just got a call from one of the interviewers asking you to meet them privately in a fancy restaurant.

My advice

First of all I want to say that in my opinion it's not fair mixing private life with professional life. It's likely that the person who interviewed is trying to get some favour from you in exchange for hiring you. It could also be possible that your application was rejected, and the interviewer has an honest interest in you as his future mate.
If I were you I would accept the invitation to the restaurant, so that you will be able to understand the intention of the interviewer.

Intonation in English

I want to show you how intonation works in the English language.
When we want to communicate to our listeners that a list of phrases is continuing with another one, the voice goes up. If we want to express that we are finishing talking, the voice goes down.

For example, let's have a look at the lyrics of Eagles' song Take it easy.

Well, I'm a running down the road

trying to loosen my load

I've got seven women on my mind,
four that wanna own me, (voice up)
two that wanna stone me, (voice up)
one says she's a friend of mine. (voice down)

Search "Take It Easy" on Youtube

words from the news

to cripple = verb, to damage something very badly and make it weak or not effective.
example: an exponent of a party accuses that the opposing party's policies will cripple Country

adamant /ˈædəmənt/ = adj, very sure of what you think and not willing to change your opinion
example: Labour adamant to renegotiate IMF deal

passionate = adj, showing a strong belief in sth or a strong feeling about sth

example: A passionate speaker. I'm not passionate about policy

A simple achievement

I've found a new room to live in Dublin, and it took me only two days to find it!
The landlord spontaneously offered himself to buy a mattress, because, as he said, the one which is currently on the bed is too old. Then, when I told him that I needed a desk to study, he answered that he would find one that fits into my room.
I'm looking forward to meeing the other flatmates.

Irish Property Owner's Association

A story of my first childhood

When I was a child I used to ride my bicycle as fast as possible, along the street just in front my house.

My brother and I would challenge each other doing dangerous actions.
My mother would say to my brother and me not go too far away from home.

At sunset my father would call us out to come back home.

My brother would tell me about the accidents that had happened to the other children riding their bikes and the places where they had fallen.

One day my brother was taken to the hospital because he had fallen from his bike. The skin under his chin was stitched up and he had to wear a plaster for a week.

A few days after I found out how my brother had fallen. He had tried to ride down a steep descent, and, braking with the front brake, the bike had flipped over. So, I couldn't stop thinking about how to go down that descent and to slow the bike without any harm to me.

Ending 1
The descent takes you down to a dark garage entry was a challenge that I refused to face, and still now when I pass by it I feel a bit scared.

Ending 2
I rode down the descent and I fell on my side, and still now you can see a scar on my ankle.

-------------------------

Note:
My teacher told me this post's title was wrong because one only has one childhood. I responded to him that I had really had two childhoods with two behaviours, two ways of relating to other people. So my teacher explained that the word first should be written in italic.

A brief story with a twist

My friends and I were in the car, Paolo was driving slowly in the traffic, heading for our favourite pizzeria. We had just left university.
We were laughing and joking, when two police officers signaled to stop the car. One policeman told Paolo that he had seen something wrong in his car, but he would have overlooked the problem if he might have come to eat with us as a friend, obviously he meant to pay for himself.
Paolo had only been talking to the policeman for a few seconds when he told him that he would rather pay the fine.

Clearly, this story is invented. Why would policemen ask to join a group of friends?

John Kennedy assassination

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first President to have been born in the 20th century, the only Catholic, and the first Irish American, president.

Late in 1963, John F. Kennedy conducted a campaign for the general election to be held at the beginning of 1964, and  toured the south of United States.

On November 22, the Presidential motorcade visited Dallas, and, while the Presidential limousine was driving through the city center, Kennedy was killed by two gunshots, the first struck his troath and the second fatal his head.

Immediately, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and was accused of murdering John F. Kennedy. But, two days later, while the murderer of the president was supposed to be handed over to the State Prison, he was shot dead in front of hundreds of journalists and millions of TV watchers.

Someone believes that the murder of JFK was a conspiracy and others that Lee Harvey Oswald did all by himself. What's your idea?