Hola Amigos:
I am spreading the word per an email I received today from Adam Green of BoldProgresive.org
In his email Adam asks me and all of you out there to contact your congressman or women a tell them to support this new coalition to help BP workers. Please read below:
"A new coalition...has launched a site called BPMakesMeSick.com, petitioning President Obama to make BP give [Gulf clean-up] workers respirators."
Just today, Rep. Tom Perriello became the 13th member of Congress to endorse our coalition -- joining Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Gulf fisherman, dozens of congressional candidates, and over 67,000 Americans like you.
If you live in the state of Wisconsin your Congresswoman is Tammy Baldwin and she can be reached in Washington D.C. at this #(202) 225-2906
Le's make a difference amigos!
Asta pronto!
In the Garden of Dreams/En un Jardín de Sueños
Take time to see the unseen/Tome tiempo para observar lo oculto
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
una sugerencia/a suggestion
As I listened to the radio last night I was so shocked and sadden by the news that is was then the 80th day of the that horrific oil spoil in the Gulf of Mexico! I could not believe my ears. "What can I do", I thought helplessly as I listened. "I can learn more about it and I can write about it".......So here I am......
Courtesy of Wikipedia this is something of what I learned......
Wildlife and environmental groups have accused BP of holding back information about the extent and impact of the growing slick, and urged the White House to order a more direct federal government role in the spill response.
In prepared testimony for a congressional committee, National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger said BP had failed to disclose results from its tests of chemical dispersant used on the spill, and that BP had tried to withhold video showing the true magnitude of the leak.[107]
On 19 May BP established a live feed of the oil spill after hearings in Congress accused the company of withholding data from the ocean floor and blocking efforts by independent scientists to come up with estimates for the amount of crude flowing into the Gulf each day.[108][109
Journalists attempting to document the impact of the oil spill have been repeatedly refused access to public areas. Photojournalists have been prevented from flying over areas of the gulf to document the scope of the disaster. These accusations have been leveled at BP, its contractors, local law enforcement, USCG and other government officials.[112][113]
Scientists have also complained about prevention of access to information controlled by BP and government sources.[112] BP states that its policy is to allow the media and other parties as much access as possible.[112]
On 31 June, the Coast Guard put new restrictions in place across the Gulf Coast that prevent the public, including news photographers and reporters, from coming within 65 feet of any response teams on the beaches or vessels or booms on the water. In a press briefing, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the new regulation was related to safety issues.[114] On televsion host Anderson Cooper rejected the motivation for the restrictions outright.
And so it goes.........Then I heard something even more shocking on the radio: BP is NOT allowing it's workers to ware protective mask; which means that these men and women are risking their VERY LIVES to save the planet and to put food on the table for their families. Why are they not allowed to ware masks? Well I guess the answer is as old as the world it self: MONEY.........How will it "look" if we saw these workers wearing masks? Why we might think there is a real disaster going on?..........Isn't there?............
Please log on to: bpmakesmesick.com and join me and many others by signing a petition that will all workers to have protective masks/gear..........
Asta pronto!
Courtesy of Wikipedia this is something of what I learned......
Wildlife and environmental groups have accused BP of holding back information about the extent and impact of the growing slick, and urged the White House to order a more direct federal government role in the spill response.
In prepared testimony for a congressional committee, National Wildlife Federation President Larry Schweiger said BP had failed to disclose results from its tests of chemical dispersant used on the spill, and that BP had tried to withhold video showing the true magnitude of the leak.[107]
On 19 May BP established a live feed of the oil spill after hearings in Congress accused the company of withholding data from the ocean floor and blocking efforts by independent scientists to come up with estimates for the amount of crude flowing into the Gulf each day.[108][109
Journalists attempting to document the impact of the oil spill have been repeatedly refused access to public areas. Photojournalists have been prevented from flying over areas of the gulf to document the scope of the disaster. These accusations have been leveled at BP, its contractors, local law enforcement, USCG and other government officials.[112][113]
Scientists have also complained about prevention of access to information controlled by BP and government sources.[112] BP states that its policy is to allow the media and other parties as much access as possible.[112]
On 31 June, the Coast Guard put new restrictions in place across the Gulf Coast that prevent the public, including news photographers and reporters, from coming within 65 feet of any response teams on the beaches or vessels or booms on the water. In a press briefing, Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said the new regulation was related to safety issues.[114] On televsion host Anderson Cooper rejected the motivation for the restrictions outright.
And so it goes.........Then I heard something even more shocking on the radio: BP is NOT allowing it's workers to ware protective mask; which means that these men and women are risking their VERY LIVES to save the planet and to put food on the table for their families. Why are they not allowed to ware masks? Well I guess the answer is as old as the world it self: MONEY.........How will it "look" if we saw these workers wearing masks? Why we might think there is a real disaster going on?..........Isn't there?............
Please log on to: bpmakesmesick.com and join me and many others by signing a petition that will all workers to have protective masks/gear..........
Asta pronto!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
30 ROCK AND A LESSON IN LANGUAGE?.................
As you all may or may not know (or care) one of my VERY favorite shows in the whole "mundo" (world) is "30 Rock"! I love love love it! Me encanta mucho! ( I really like it).........
So as I was watching "30 Rock" tonight (one of their episodes from season 1)......it hit me........This episode (a small part of it) is the perfect example for my "Lecciones Joyas" (Lesson-Gems) regarding; using words too "literally" when speaking a foreign tongue...........Mas después..........More later.......
Que esten bien!
Be well!
So as I was watching "30 Rock" tonight (one of their episodes from season 1)......it hit me........This episode (a small part of it) is the perfect example for my "Lecciones Joyas" (Lesson-Gems) regarding; using words too "literally" when speaking a foreign tongue...........Mas después..........More later.......
Que esten bien!
Be well!
Lesson gem/Leccion Joya "Embarrassed"...."Embarazada"....?
Hola Amigos:
Don't you just love it when someone tells you (usually a language instructor) how much you already know of the particular language you are trying so desperately to learn?.......So here is me:
"Really? I was not aware that I already knew Korean?.......or "I guess I always knew that I knew some sign language?"......."Like this one?".........ooooooooooh come now have a little fun............
Okay so back to this "very serious topic"...........Perhaps "recognizing the fact that you may already know some Spanish; is probably the most "crucial" component of this exercise. So without further ado here are some ejemplos/examples:
A) pronto (prohn-toh)= rigth away/soon
B) conclusión (kohn-clue-see-ohne)=yup you guessed it"conclusion"
C) invención (in-vehn-see-ohne)= yup "invention"
And so on............
However.......You knew there would be a "however" here somehwere........The trouble begins in the "World of Words" (no not the "War of the Worlds" from Steven Spielberg with Tom Cruise, they had nothing to do with this one)...........Here goes that story:
Courtesy of Wikipedia..........
False friends (or faux amis, French for "false friends") are pairs of words in two languages or dialects (or letters in two alphabets) that look or sound similar, but (big but here) differ in meaning. .
Here are my Ejemplos/Examples:
A) Actual= same spelling in English NOT same meaning in Spanish
In Spanish= "actual" means current, this day, this moment......You get the idea.......So when you say in English: "The actual name given to that State was......... in Spanish you are saying: "The name given today or up this date is".........
B) My personal "favorita"/favorite is: embarazada (to be with child)........Oh yeah this is a fun one! So here goes this story...........
As you may or may not know "embarrassed" in English means NOT pregnant but ashamed or encumbered.......
Now in Spanish the problem begins with the fact that "embarazada" is the adjective that comes from the same root as the English word but (a big but here) nowadays or "actualmente" (this vocabulary word evolved a bit over time) it is exclusively used to mean "with child", pregnant, "preggos", "bun in the oven" and so on...........
My mama refers to this stage in life of pregnancy as: "the walking incubator"..... isn't that romantic?.......Ahhhhhhhh.........
More later........
An anecdote:
I knew this lady from Perú who was here in the US for sometime while she learned English. One say she came home from church telling how nice EVERYONE at the church was. How all of them shook her hand and welcomed her to the church.......I thought: "Wow I know no one at that church and I have been living around here since grade school". The next Sunday came and went and again my Latina pal came telling me how delightful everyone had been and not just to her but with one another......"Hmmmh?" I thought to myself.
The following Sunday I decided to go with my Peruvian friend to this "wonderful new" church.......
Well we got to the church and everything seemed as normal as one would expect at a church........We sat down listened, stood up, sat down , you get the idea........ Then my friend looks at me and says: "Okay here it comes" she says, "This is the time when we all greet one another"...........
Then it began: "Pleased to meet you", as my friend shook everyone hands who she could reach and then some.........
As we left the church I burst out laughing. My friend asked why I was laughing so crazily after church; my whole body went into convulsions. "Well", I said trying to be serious, "These folks are not telling you "nice to meet you". To which my friend replied in her Latina accent: "No?'.........I replied: "No", and tried to continue with a straight face.
"What these folks are actually telling you is: "Peace be with you!", "Not", I continue, "Pleased to meet you"............Then we both burst out laughing ........
Ahhhhhhhh that was a fun day!
Don't you just love it when someone tells you (usually a language instructor) how much you already know of the particular language you are trying so desperately to learn?.......So here is me:
"Really? I was not aware that I already knew Korean?.......or "I guess I always knew that I knew some sign language?"......."Like this one?".........ooooooooooh come now have a little fun............
Okay so back to this "very serious topic"...........Perhaps "recognizing the fact that you may already know some Spanish; is probably the most "crucial" component of this exercise. So without further ado here are some ejemplos/examples:
A) pronto (prohn-toh)= rigth away/soon
B) conclusión (kohn-clue-see-ohne)=yup you guessed it"conclusion"
C) invención (in-vehn-see-ohne)= yup "invention"
And so on............
However.......You knew there would be a "however" here somehwere........The trouble begins in the "World of Words" (no not the "War of the Worlds" from Steven Spielberg with Tom Cruise, they had nothing to do with this one)...........Here goes that story:
Courtesy of Wikipedia..........
False friends (or faux amis, French for "false friends") are pairs of words in two languages or dialects (or letters in two alphabets) that look or sound similar, but (big but here) differ in meaning. .
Here are my Ejemplos/Examples:
A) Actual= same spelling in English NOT same meaning in Spanish
In Spanish= "actual" means current, this day, this moment......You get the idea.......So when you say in English: "The actual name given to that State was......... in Spanish you are saying: "The name given today or up this date is".........
B) My personal "favorita"/favorite is: embarazada (to be with child)........Oh yeah this is a fun one! So here goes this story...........
As you may or may not know "embarrassed" in English means NOT pregnant but ashamed or encumbered.......
Now in Spanish the problem begins with the fact that "embarazada" is the adjective that comes from the same root as the English word but (a big but here) nowadays or "actualmente" (this vocabulary word evolved a bit over time) it is exclusively used to mean "with child", pregnant, "preggos", "bun in the oven" and so on...........
My mama refers to this stage in life of pregnancy as: "the walking incubator"..... isn't that romantic?.......Ahhhhhhhh.........
More later........
An anecdote:
I knew this lady from Perú who was here in the US for sometime while she learned English. One say she came home from church telling how nice EVERYONE at the church was. How all of them shook her hand and welcomed her to the church.......I thought: "Wow I know no one at that church and I have been living around here since grade school". The next Sunday came and went and again my Latina pal came telling me how delightful everyone had been and not just to her but with one another......"Hmmmh?" I thought to myself.
The following Sunday I decided to go with my Peruvian friend to this "wonderful new" church.......
Well we got to the church and everything seemed as normal as one would expect at a church........We sat down listened, stood up, sat down , you get the idea........ Then my friend looks at me and says: "Okay here it comes" she says, "This is the time when we all greet one another"...........
Then it began: "Pleased to meet you", as my friend shook everyone hands who she could reach and then some.........
As we left the church I burst out laughing. My friend asked why I was laughing so crazily after church; my whole body went into convulsions. "Well", I said trying to be serious, "These folks are not telling you "nice to meet you". To which my friend replied in her Latina accent: "No?'.........I replied: "No", and tried to continue with a straight face.
"What these folks are actually telling you is: "Peace be with you!", "Not", I continue, "Pleased to meet you"............Then we both burst out laughing ........
Ahhhhhhhh that was a fun day!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Lesson gem/Leccion Joya
A brief note about learning languages........
One of the many ways in which learning a second language helps you "the learner" is by opening/developing what you already know. Huh?........Okay it's like this: knowing a first language is a sort of segue way into knowing an another.......Huh?,,,,, Okay stay with me here......
It is much easier for one to learn to read in a second language if one already knows how to read in ones own language.......If you can read then YOU CAN read. Period. The ability to read transfers rapidly across languages.....Get it?......As a reader you already know all the rules to follow on how to read (left to right, sounds etc) now you just need to apply them to the reading of foreign language.
Basically the old adage that: "Old dogs can't learn new tricks" is definitely NOT the case in acquiring language. The older you are the more of an advantage you have.....See I knew that getting old had its advantages!
Hope this helped!
One of the many ways in which learning a second language helps you "the learner" is by opening/developing what you already know. Huh?........Okay it's like this: knowing a first language is a sort of segue way into knowing an another.......Huh?,,,,, Okay stay with me here......
It is much easier for one to learn to read in a second language if one already knows how to read in ones own language.......If you can read then YOU CAN read. Period. The ability to read transfers rapidly across languages.....Get it?......As a reader you already know all the rules to follow on how to read (left to right, sounds etc) now you just need to apply them to the reading of foreign language.
Basically the old adage that: "Old dogs can't learn new tricks" is definitely NOT the case in acquiring language. The older you are the more of an advantage you have.....See I knew that getting old had its advantages!
Hope this helped!
George Lopez
Hola Amigos:
As a Latina I could not go on writing without mentioning the great George Lopez. I love his stand up act and his new television show "a la Johny Carson" but with more "sabor" (flavor).
I like Mr. Lopez not only because he is a superb comedian in his own right but because he tries to educate with humor and not a "discurso" (a speech). He never claims to be anything else than who is. He is a humble man as well as an extremely intelligent man.......... Incidentally that is how one can tell a true intellectual; by their humility and down to earth attitude.
In any event whether you agree with me or not I felt this had to be said.............
Asta pronto!
As a Latina I could not go on writing without mentioning the great George Lopez. I love his stand up act and his new television show "a la Johny Carson" but with more "sabor" (flavor).
I like Mr. Lopez not only because he is a superb comedian in his own right but because he tries to educate with humor and not a "discurso" (a speech). He never claims to be anything else than who is. He is a humble man as well as an extremely intelligent man.......... Incidentally that is how one can tell a true intellectual; by their humility and down to earth attitude.
In any event whether you agree with me or not I felt this had to be said.............
Asta pronto!
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