IRON MAIDEN

Iron Maiden (one of the greatest heavy metal bands in the world) is coming to Brazil once again for concerts in six Brazilian cities and I will be in Recife to see them on the 3rd of April. My daughter Nycole is going with me for this unique and unforgettable moment in our lives. Here´s a little bit of their biography:
The story of Iron Maiden begins in 1971, when 15 year old Steve Harris, inspired by the likes of Wishbone Ash, Jethro Tull and early Genesis bought a copy Telecaster bass .
Steve had previously harboured visions of one day playing soccer for his beloved West Ham and was actually signed to them on schoolboy forms. However, the talent pool in the Hammer's youth organisation in those days was overflowing and the number of players who actually made it into the professional game were very few. The continuous playing and training regime also meant that that young Harry couldn't join his mates in drinking, watching bands and bullying girls.
After thinking long and hard, he abandoned hopes of a soccer career and built up a strong liking and knowledge of rock music. He taught himself how to play by playing along to his favourite records and jamming with friends. This led to the formation of a band called Influence who then changed their name to Gypsy's Kiss.
The Gypsies made their debut at a talent contest in Poplar, lasting all of six gigs before calling it a day. Steve fired by a burning ambition hooked up with a band called Smiler. The other band members were several years older than him, Steve picked up some valuable experience but still felt stifled. Smiler were a "good time boogie " band and although they
played an early version of "Innocent Exile", they turned down "Burning Ambition" and made it clear that they didn't expect their bass player to leap around the stage and write songs. Steve finally realised that the only way to do what he wanted was to put his own band together and at the end of 1975, Iron Maiden was born. Steve got the name from seeing an Iron Maiden in an old movie of "The Man In The Iron Mask". It was a metal coffin with spikes on the inside and the victims were placed inside it and skewered to death.
What followed was endless music mayhem from the most power packed bands ever to hit the heavy metal scene-Iron Maiden.
I am really looking forward to traveling to Recife to see this great band live. Up the Irons!!!

PETER GABRIEL

In these times of earthquakes, floods, tsunamis and other natural disasters, this song always comes to my mind. It´s a song written and sung by Peter Gabriel, former vocalist of Genesis (he was replaced by Phil Collins), very talented lyricist and a fantastic voice. Here´s the lyrics:

HERE COMES THE FLOOD
When the night shows
The signals grow on radios
All the strange things
They come and go, as early warnings
Stranded starfish have no place to hide
Still waiting for the swollen Easter tide
There's no point in direction we cannot
Even choose a side.
I took the old track
The hollow shoulder, across the waters
On the tall cliffs
They were getting older, sons and daughters
The jaded underworld was riding high
Waves of steel hurled metal at the sky
And as the nail sunk in the cloud, the rain
Was warm and soaked the crowd.
Lord, here comes the flood
Here we'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent
In any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.
When the flood calls
You have no home, you have no walls
In the thunder crash
You're a thousand minds, within a flash
Don't be afraid to cry at what you see
The actors gone, there's only you and me
If we break before the dawn
They'll use up what we used to be.
Lord, here comes the flood
We'll say goodbye to flesh and blood
If again the seas are silent
In any still alive
It'll be those who gave their island to survive
Drink up, dreamers, you're running dry.

And here´s the vídeo:

THE BIGGEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD

An Indian man may be the most polygamous in the world currently.
Ziona Chana of Mizoram has 39 wives! He made very ‘good use’ of all those wives by fathering 94 children with them. The man might have the biggest family in the world because he currently has 14 daughter-in-laws and 33 grandchildren.
He has housed himself and his family in a 100-room mansion that he has built in his village. He is not satisfied with the near-200 family size. He wants to marry again claiming that he is blessed to have so many women fall for him. The 67-year-old says he plans to travel to the United States where he hopes he would find some future wives.
It is interesting how Chana arranges his wives in relation to where his master bedroom is located. In his mansion younger and more attractive wives are given rooms that are close to Chana’s bedroom. The older wives are given rooms that are at different parts of the mansion.
Chana told the Sun in an interview that, “Today I feel like God’s special child. He’s given me so many people to look after. I consider myself a lucky man to be the husband of 39 women and head of the largest family.”
The family is organised with almost military discipline, with the oldest wife Zathiangi organising her fellow partners to perform household chores such as cleaning, washing and preparing meals.
One evening meal can see them pluck 30 chickens, peel 132lb of potatoes and boil up to 220lb of rice.
Coincidentally, Mr Chana is also head of a sect that allows members to take as many wives as he wants.
He even married ten women in one year, when he was at his most prolific, and enjoys his own double bed while his wives have to make do with communal dormitories.
Rinkmini, one of Mr Chana’s wives who is 35 years old, said: ‘We stay around him as he is the most important person in the house. He is the most handsome person in the village. …
Another of his wives, Huntharnghanki, said the entire family gets along well. The family system is reportedly based on ‘mutual love and respect’ …
One of his sons insisted that Mr Chana, whose grandfather also had many wives, marries the poor women from the village so he can look after them.

Thaindian News – Fewbruary 21, 2011

FIGHTING POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION

Hi, folks. Here I am again after a few months without posting anything. I promise not to stay away for so long.
Here is a text for you to practice your knowledge of English. It is part of a Vestibular test from the Federal University of Santa Catarina/2011.
Read the text and try to answer the four questions about it, writing the number of the propositions which are correct.
See you soon! Milton França.


TEXT
Poverty and social exclusion are a major challenge for humanity. According to the Human Development Report 1997, a quarter of the world's population remains in severe poverty, despite the major advances in reducing poverty made during the 20th century. At the same time, social inequality, marginalization and discrimination still exclude many people from full participation in economic, political and cultural life. While poverty and social exclusion represent common problems to policy makers in both poor and rich countries, new initiatives have been developed to combat these problems, initiatives which merit being called "Best Practices".

What are Best Practices? The idea of creating a database for Best Practices is based on the observation that carefully documented case histories can provide excellent guidelines for policy making and planning of new projects. The goal of a database on Best Practices is to present and promote creative, successful and sustainable solutions to social problems arising from poverty and social exclusion in order to build a bridge between experimental solutions, research and policy.

Best Practices are model projects or policies aimed at improving the quality of life of individuals or groups suffering from poverty or social exclusion. They are typically based on the cooperation between national or local authorities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local communities, the private sector, and academic communities. They include a variety of activities in all parts of the world:

• In England: “The Big Issue”, a magazine sold by homeless people so they can earn a living and re-integrate into society.
• In India: 4,000 women established the Shri Mahila SEWA Sahakari Bank to provide credit at reasonable rates to self-employed women workers.
• In Brazil: the “Living Library” was created to make reading and writing an everyday activity for poor children to combat high rates of failure at elementary school.

Calling these activities Best Practices is to suggest that they can and should be replicated, that ideas can and should be generated from them, and that they can and should contribute to policy development.
From:http://www.unesco.org/most/bphome.htm>

1. Select the CORRECT proposition(s), according to the text.
01. Nowadays, criminality is related to social problems like poverty.
02. Twenty-five percent of the world’s population is still in great poverty.
04. Actions are being taken to diminish poverty and social exclusion.
08. Marginalization is the main cause of economic and political crises.
16. Rich countries can offer solutions for problems such as social exclusion.
32. In the 20th century, much progress was made in decreasing poverty.
CORRECT PROPOSITIONS: ____________

2. What does the text say about “Best Practices”?
Select the CORRECT proposition(s).
01. They provide ideas for improving the living standards of the underprivileged.
02. They depend on the economic cooperation of many sectors, mainly that of volunteers.
04. They should serve as examples for the planning of new actions to combat social problems.
08. They are projects aimed only at helping people who live in poor countries.
16. They are ideas that can be used in projects for technological development.
CORRECT PROPOSITIONS: ___________


3. As for initiatives to fight poverty and social exclusion, we can CONCLUDE from the text that:
01. in England, a big issue was planned for building a community center.
02. non-governmental organizations became the only source of help.
04. the government in India created a bank to help unemployed women.
08. the use of a database on Best Practices is a good way to obtain strategies for policy making.
16. in Brazil, a model project is being implemented to improve students’ performance.
CORRECT PROPOSITIONS: ____________

4. Considering the text, select the proposition(s) in which there are two expressions that are SIMILAR.
01. According to / As stated by the Human Development Report 1997, a quarter of the world's population remains in severe poverty.
02. At the same time / In contrast, social inequality, marginalization and discrimination still exclude many people from full participation in economic, political and cultural life.
04. While / Therefore poverty and social exclusion represent common problems to policy makers in both poor and rich countries, new initiatives have been developed to combat these problems.
08. The goal of a database on Best Practices is to present and promote solutions to social problems in order to / so as to build a bridge between experimental solutions, research and policy.
16. Best Practices are model projects or policies aimed at / unplanned for improving the quality of life of individuals or groups suffering from poverty or social exclusion.
CORRECT PROPOSITIONS: ______________

Man in Brazil jails daughter, has 7 kids with her

A man in a remote fishing village in Brazil kept his daughter imprisoned for 12 years, abused her repeatedly and had seven children with her, police said Wednesday.
The man is also accused of abusing a young girl he had with his daughter.
Police allege that Jose Agostinho Pereira, 54, kept his daughter, now 28, under virtual house arrest in a two-room, thatched-roof hut near a tiny fishing village in northeastern Brazil.
An officer who aided in the arrest said the home was located in such a remote, jungle area that the only way to reach it was by using canoes. Authorities said the children appeared to suffer from malnutrition and could barely communicate with others. Most were unclothed.
The alleged abuse began when Pereira’s wife left him in 1998, said police inspector Jair Lima de Paiva.
Pereira has been in jail since Tuesday in the city of Pinheiro in Maranhão state, about 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometers) north of Rio de Janeiro. Charges have not been filed against him. Under Brazilian law, prosecutors only file charges after police have ended their investigation.
It was not immediately known if Pereira had a lawyer.
Paiva said Pereira kept his daughter and the children in nearly complete isolation in the countryside near the village of Experimento, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) outside of Pinheiro.
While the exact ages of the children — four girls and three boys — were not known as none of their births were registered, police believe they range in age from 2-months-old to 12.
“None of them were allowed to leave the house. None can read, they can barely communicate with other people,” said Paiva. “They were all threatened with their lives if they tried to escape or tell anyone about the situation.”
Paiva said police were tipped off about Pereira’s alleged crimes by an anonymous phone call.
Officers from Pinheiro were sent to the remote area about 10 days ago, where they located Pereira’s house, kept it under observation for a few days and then arrested him.
“He confessed to everything,” said a police officer who helped arrest Pereira, speaking on condition of anonymity, as he was not authorized to discuss the case.
Pereira’s daughter and the seven children are now under the care of the government’s protective services.

From The European Union Times - June 13th, 2010

IN THE END - A SONG BY YUSUF ISLAM

This is a great song written by a great artist: Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens). It emphasizes the fact that the evil that people do will come back to them, therefore in the end they will pay for the bad things they do, the lies they tell. It makes me remind of a proverb that says "You reap what you sow".


IN THE END

You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause whether you're right or you're wrong
We're gonna kno

w what you've done
We're going to see where you belong - in the end
You can't bargain with the truth
Whether you are black or you're white
We're going to know who's right
We're going to see you in the light - in the end

O and every little thing you do
You'd better know it's coming back to you

You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause one day you're gonna die
And good's going high,
And evil's going down - in the end

You can't bargain with the truth
Whether you're old or young
We're going to see what you've done
There'll be nowhere else to run - in the end
You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause whether you're rich or you're poor
You're going to meet at the same door;
You're going to know the real score - in the end
And if you want to help your fellow man
You better start with what is in your hand

You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause whether you're right or you're wrong
We're going to know what you've done
We're going to see where you belong - in the end

You can't bargain with the truth;
'Cause if the world you chose
No further than your nose
Will be where the doors will close- in the end
You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause for those who were deceived
There'll be no reprieve
There'll be no time to believe - in the end

O and every little thing you do
You better know it's coming back to you
You can't bargain with the truth
'Cause one day you're gonna die
And good's going high,
And evil's going down - in the end


You can watch it here, if you wish:

PRACTICE YOUR VOCABULARY 1

"We left home in the morning for our holiday. We were planning to stay away for a fortnight. We took extra torches in case we got stuck at night. We stopped at the chemist to buy a few things. We also stopped for petrol. There was a long wait because there were a few lorries in the queue. At last we got on our way".

1. The text above was written in British English. Which word below has the incorrect American equivalent?
a) holiday - vacation
b) fortnight - a week
c) torches - flashlights
d) petrol - gasoline
e) lorries - trucks

2. Which of the following words is NOT related to cars?
a) brake
b) tires
c) wheels
d) chain
e) clutch

3. What does the expression `Go Dutch` mean?
a) to travel to the Netherlands.
b) to go to a country where Dutch is spoken.
c) to have each person pay his/her own expenses.
d) to be in trouble with someone.
e) to go to a place against your will.

4. Which of these words is NOT a profession?
a) cellar
b) stewardess
c) physician
d) accountant
e) tailor

5. The words of a song are called ______________ .
a) letters
b) lines
c) lyrics
d) rhymes
e) beats

6. A ______________ is someone who doesn`t like to spend/give money.
a) spender
b) pickpocket
c) shoplifter
d) cheapskate
e) teller

7. Which group of words has one that does NOT belong to it?
a) German, Spanish, Thai, Hindi, Swahili
b) strawberry, pear, grape, apple, passion fruit
c) comedy, thriller, novel, documentary, drama
d) newspaper, magazine, book, leaflet, letter
e) goat, sheep, deer, horse, bull

8. _______________ is a false friend, which is another name for false cognate.
a) poet
b) planet
c) fantastic
d) supercilious
e) romance

9. Choose the pair of antonyms:
a) main - principal
b) cheap - inexpensive
c) thin - thick
d) fast - quick
e) wonderful - marvelous

10. In the northeast of Brazil, many people don´t sleep in beds. They prefer ____________ .
a) hammocks
b) grids
c) networks
d) nets
e) nests

By Milton França/2010.

HE WAS CAT STEVENS. NOW HE IS YUSUF ISLAM

This is the story of a great British singer and lyricist who, for a certain period of his life, lived in Brazil (more specifically in Rio de Janeiro).
His real name is Steven Georgiou - the third child of a Greek father, Stavros Georgiou and a Swedish mother, Ingrid Wickman. He has an older sister, Anita, and brother, David. The family lived above Moulin Rouge, the restaurant that his parents operated on the north end of Shaftesbury Avenue, a short walk from Piccadilly Circus in the Soho theater district of London.
Georgiou began to perform his songs in coffee houses and pubs. At first he tried to form a band, but soon realized he preferred to perform solo. Thinking that his given name might not be memorable to prospective fans, he chose a stage name Cat Stevens, in part because a girlfriend said he had eyes like a cat, but mainly because he said, "I couldn't imagine anyone going to the record store and asking for 'that Steven Demetre Georgiou album'.
The first singles were hits. "I Love My Dog" charted at #28, and "Matthew and Son", the title song from his debut album, went to #2. "I'm Gonna Get Me a Gun" reached Britain's Top 10, and the album Matthew and Son itself began charting.
Stevens was living the fast-moving life of a pop star, and in early 1968 at the age of 19, he became very ill with tuberculosis and a collapsed lung.
He spent months recuperating in hospital and a year of convalescence. During this time Stevens began to question aspects of his life and spirituality. He later said, "to go from the show business environment and find you are in hospital, getting injections day in and day out, and people around you are dying, it certainly changes your perspective. I got down to thinking about myself. It seemed almost as if I had my eyes shut."
He took up meditation, yoga, and metaphysics; read about other religions; and became a vegetarian. As a result of his serious illness and long convalescence, and as a part of his spiritual awakening and questioning, he wrote as many as 40 songs, which were much more introspective than his previous work. Many of those songs would appear on his albums in years to come. Among them I´d like to mention: Father and son, Morning has broken, Where do the children play, Peace Train and Wild world:





Cat Stevens formally converted to the Islamic religion on 23 December, 1977, taking the name Yusuf Islam in 1978. Yusuf is the Arabic rendition of the name Joseph.
Following his conversion, Yusuf abandoned his career as a pop star. When he became a Muslim in 1977, he said, the Imam at the mosque was told that he was a pop star, and he told Yusuf that it was fine to continue as a musician, so long as the songs were morally acceptable.
In his first performance on the television show with Jools Holland, 27 years after leaving the "pop" music business, and in other interviews, he gave other reasons for leaving the pop stage. "A lot of people would have loved me to keep singing," he said. "You come to a point where you have sung, more or less ... your whole repertoire and you want to get down to the job of living. You know, up until that point, I hadn't had a life. I'd been searching, been on the road."
He continues to earn approximately $1.5 million a year from his Cat Stevens music. He decided to use his accumulated wealth and continuing earnings from his music career on philanthropic and educational causes in the Muslim community of London and elsewhere. In 1981, he founded the Islamia Primary School in Salusbury Road in the north London area of Kilburn and, soon after, founded several Muslim secondary schools and devoted his energy to providing an Islamic education to children and to donate the rest to charitable causes. He is the founder and chairman of the Small Kindness charity, which initially assisted famine victims in Africa and now supports thousands of orphans and families in the Balkans, Indonesia, and Iraq.
In 1985, Yusuf decided to return to the public spotlight for the first time since his religious conversion, at the historic Live Aid concert, concerned with the famine threatening Ethiopia.
On 21 September 2004, Yusuf was on a United Airlines flight from London to Washington, traveling to a meeting with singer Dolly Parton, who had recorded one of his songs "Peace Train" several years earlier and was planning to include another Cat Stevens song on an upcoming album. While the plane was in flight, the Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System flagged his name as being on a no fly list. Customs agents alerted the United States Transportation Security Administration, which then diverted his flight to Bangor, Maine, where he was detained by agents from the Department of Homeland Security.
The following day, Yusuf was deported back to the United Kingdom. The Transportation Security Administration claimed there were "concerns of ties he may have to potential terrorist-related activities".
The US deportation provoked a small international controversy, and led British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to complain personally to US Secretary of State Colin Powell at the United Nations.
Yusuf believed his inclusion on the watch list may have simply been an error: a mistaken identification of him for a man with the same name, but different spelling. On 1 October 2004 Yusuf requested the removal of his name, "I remain bewildered by the decision of the US authorities to refuse me entry to the United States". According to a statement by Yusuf, the man on the list was named "Youssef Islam", indicating that Yusuf himself was not the suspected terrorism supporter.
Two years later, in December 2006, Yusuf was admitted without incident into the United States for several radio concert performances and interviews to promote his new record.
Yusuf gradually resumed his musical career in the 1990s. His initial recordings had not included any musical instruments other than percussion, and featured lyrics about Islamic themes. He invested in building his own recording studio which he named Mountain of Light Studios in the late 1990s.
These are some songs of his second phase as Yusuf Islam: Heaven/Where true love goes, Maybe there´s a world, In the end and The beloved:




From www.wikipedia.com
Adapted by Milton França

60 INTERESTING WORDS AND IDIOMS

Hi, folks! I´ve prepared a very interesting list of words and expressions in English. I hope you like it. Here it is:

1. 24/7 - dia e noite, o tempo todo
2. A.C/D.C. - bissexual
3. apple polisher / bootlicker - puxa-saco
4. be a jinx - ser pé-frio
5. be all at sea - estar completamente “por fora”
6. be in Dutch with … - estar “sujo” com …
7. beat about/around the bush - fazer rodeios (não ir direto ao assunto)
8. bellyache - chorar de barriga cheia, chorar miséria
9. bite the bullet - suportar qualquer sofrimento
10. Break a leg! - Boa sorte!
11. bus boy - ajudante de garçom
12. by heart - de cor, decorado
13. call a spade a spade - dar “nome aos bois”
14. camp it up - desmunhecar
15. can-do person - pessoa muito prestativa
16. carry a torch for someone - alimentar uma paixão não-retribuída
17. cellar-dweller - “lanterna” (ultimo colocado)
18. cheapskate - pão-duro, sovina
19. chicken feed - pouco dinheiro, ninharia
20. climb/get/jump on the bandwagon - seguir a maioria, “ir na onda”
21. cold fish - pessoa fria (nada emotiva)
22. Come again? - Como?, Pode repetir?
23. come/get out of the closet - assumir a homossexualidade
24. Come rain or shine / Come what may - Faça chuva ou faça sol
25. Come to your senses! - Crie juízo!
26. con man - vigarista
27. cost an arm and a leg - custar “os olhos da cara”
28. crash the gate - entrar de penetra
29. cut a class / play truant / play hooky - matar aula
30. doggie bag - “quentinha” (resto de comida levada para casa)
31. dressed to kill - “nos trinques” (muito bem vestido)
32. drink like a fish - beber muito (álcool)
33. duck soup / piece of cake - moleza, muito fácil
34. egghead - intelectual
35. fly the coop - “dar no pé”, ir embora
36. for good / for keeps - para sempre
37. get cold feet - “amarelar”, perder a coragem
38. give up the ghost / kick the bucket - morrer
39. go Dutch - rachar a conta
40. go to powder one´s nose - ir ao banheiro (expressão usada por mulheres)
Obs: Ao fazer uma oração, substitua one´s por my, your, her, etc.
41. go to see a man about a dog - ir ao banheiro (expressão usada por homens)
42. hair of the dog - bebida tomada para curar ressaca
43. have two left feet - não saber dançar
44. hen party - festa de despedida de solteira
45. let the cat out of the bag - revelar um segredo
46. Let´s call it a day! - Por hoje é só!
47. longhair music - música clássica
48. make a pass at … - passar uma cantada em …
49. Mind your P´s and Q´s- Cuidado com o diz/faz
50. on the rocks - puro (sem gelo)
51. on the house - por conta da casa
52. one for the road - saideira
53. paint the town red - aprontar, “pintar o sete”
54. Portuguese man-of-war - caravela, água-viva
55. pushing up daisies - morto
56. stag party - festa de despedida de solteiro
57. street Arab - menino de rua
58. take forty winks - tirar uma soneca
59. tie the knot - casar
60. wet blanket - estraga-prazeres

By Milton França/2009

CANNIBALISM IN BRAZIL? IT EXISTS...

Cannibalism, from Caníbalis in Spanish, is when a human eats the flesh of another human. It´s something that was used all over the world until the 19th century. Nowadays, one of the few places where it is still practiced is the Korowai Tribe, in the western part of Papua New Guinea. However, cannibalism also happens in other countries, like Brazil. Here is a report about cannibalism in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul:


Brazil Cannibalism: man gets 16 years for killing and eating foe's heart

Brazilian carpenter Gilmar Alberto Wasckman, 46, was convicted on July 31st, by
a popular jury to 16 years in prison for murder and cannibalism. He is said to have killed a man and then having eaten pieces of his organs and drunk his blood.
The crime occurred on November 23, 2007, in Mundo Novo, a town in the Brazilian midwestern state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Mundo Novo is 460 kilometers (286 miles) from Campo Grande, the state's capital.
The criminal was sentenced to 15 years of jail for the murder and to an extra one year and three months for having eaten the organs. Wasckman will be allowed to serve his time in a half open regime, having to report to prison only at night, to sleep, after 6 years and 4 months of jail time.
The murderer will be transferred from Mundo Novo to Dourados next week to start serving his sentence.
Wasckman's crime was the result of a fight between him and 53-year-old Aparecido Antônio da Silva. The killer, who used a knife to commit his crime, was helped by a 16-year old youngster. The victim, who used to have frequent sex with the boy, was furious when he found out that the carpenter was also sharing the affections of the young man.
Both men ended up fighting and stabbing each other. Wasckman was able to kill his aggressor with the help of the teenager.
After the murder the two assassins cut the man's testicles out and opened him up to extract his liver and heart. They followed this action by eating pieces of the man's heart and liver. According to the teen, his partner in the crime also drank some of the victim's blood.
It was the young man who went to the police to tell them what had happened. The police found the body as described by the teen.
As for Wasckman he claimed that he had done what he did because he was under the influence of alcohol and drugs.

By Milton França/2009
With report by www.brazzil.com