The Bangles are an American all-female band that originated in the early 1980s, scoring several hit singles during the decade. Susanna Hoffs joined sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson and Annette Zilinskas to form a band in Los Angeles in December, 1980. The band was part of the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene, which featured groups that played a mixture of 1960s-influenced folk-rock and jangle pop with a more modern punk–ish/garage band undertone. All this went some way to attracting the attention of Prince, who later wrote "Manic Monday" for the group. "Manic Monday" went on to become a #2 hit in the US, the UK and Germany.
Andrea Corr, one of the siblings which made up Irish successful 90s pop-group The Corrs, is just back with her second solo-album of cover versions "LIFELINES". In it, she collects songs by Lennon, Roy Orbison, Velvet Underground, Kirsty McColl, Harry Nilsson, Ron Sexsmith, Nick Drake & The Blue Nile. Songs and artists which have meant something to her in her life. Here's her video and a promotional interview from BBC1.
Video interview from BBC1:
Video "TINSELTOWN IN THE RAIN" (single):
Lyrics: Why did we ever come so far ? I knew I'd seen it all before Tall building reach up in vain Tinseltown is in the rain I know now love was so exciting
Tinseltown in the rain Oh men and women Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm
One day this love will all blow over Time for leaving the parade Is there a place in this city A place to always feel this way And hey, there's a red car in the fountain
Tinseltown in the rain Oh men and women Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm
Do I love you ? Yes I love you Will we always be happy go lucky ? Do I love you ? Yes I love you But it's easy come, and it's easy go All this talking is only bravado yeah
Oh, Tinseltown
Tinseltown in the rain Oh men and women Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm Tinseltown in the rain Oh men and women Here we are, caught up in this big rhythm Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain
Do I love you ? Yes I love you Will we always be happy go lucky ? Do I love you ? Yes I love you But it's easy come, and it's easy go All this talking, talking is only bravado
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain Tinseltown is in the rain
International Business Machines (IBM) is an American multinational technology and consulting firm headquartered in Armonk, New York. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. The company was founded in 1911 as the Computing Tabulating Recording Corporation through a merger of four companies and adopted the name International Business Machines in 1924. In 2011, Fortune ranked IBM the 18th largest firm in the U.S., as well as the 7th most profitable. Globally, the company was ranked the 31st largest firm by Forbes for 2011. Other rankings for 2010 include #1 company for leaders, #2 best global brand, #3 green company, #15 most admired company, and #18 most innovative company. IBM employs more than 425,000 employees(sometimes referred to as "IBMers")in over 200 countries, with occupations including scientists, engineers, consultants, and sales professionals. IBM holds more patents than any other U.S.-based technology company and has nine research laboratories worldwide. Its employees have garnered five Nobel Prizes, five National Medals of Science, among many others. The company has undergone several organizational changes since its inception, acquiring some companies and spinning off companies like Lexmark (1991).
Where did this little boy get the inspiration to write this?
"How tired I am of this unbearable distance between us. How I long for the toll of the recess bell. Have you forgotten me? Grown mindless of me? Tell me I am not writing into an abyss. Or that is what will become of my heart."
For the sixth time in seven years, Spanish tennis-player has won the French Roland Garros Championship. Rafael Nadal equalled Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles after defeating Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 5-7 6-1 in a hard-hitting final at Roland Garros. The world number one brushed off an early injury concern to move into a commanding two-set lead and seemed to be heading for an easy win. Some inspired play from Federer caused Nadal to wobble at the end of the third set but the Swiss player could not keep mistakes out of his game and any hopes of an unlikely comeback were soon killed off by the clay court master. Nadal raced away from his great rival in the fourth set to move level with Borg as the man with the most French Open titles since the tournament became an international event in 1925.
The E.coli cucumber crisis has hit the news throughout Europe this week. Here's coverage on the British media:
[bbc.co.uk] E. coli cucumber scare: Spain angry at German claims
Spain has expressed anger at links being made between Spanish cucumbers and a deadly E. coli outbreak. The country's agriculture minister said Germany pointed to Spanish cucumbers "without having reliable data". Meanwhile, German officials have voiced doubts about whether the Spanish cucumbers they are investigating carried the deadly E. coli strain. The outbreak has led to 16 deaths - 15 in Germany and a woman who died in Sweden after travelling to Germany. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), Germany's national disease institute, says more than 1,150 people within Germany have been affected by enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, also known as EHEC. In many instances, the gastrointestinal infection has led to Haemolytic-uraemic Syndrome (HUS), which causes kidney problems and is potentially fatal. The RKI has confirmed 373 cases of HUS in Germany. "We want Germany to provide, without any delay and distractions, the necessary information of its investigation", Rosa Aguilar Spanish agriculture minister German authorities initially pointed to organic cucumbers from Spain. But Spanish officials have refused to accept the blame, saying it is still unclear exactly when and where the vegetables were contaminated. Spanish Agriculture Minister Rosa Aguilar said: "We are disappointed by the way Germany handles the situation." "We want Germany to provide, without any delay and distractions, the necessary information of its investigation so that the European Union can know what is causing the E. coli outbreak." Speaking at an EU meeting in Hungary, she also said the issue should be treated as a "common problem" and that there should be compensation for Spanish and other European producers affected. The Netherlands has also said it will ask for compensation. The president of Spain's fruit and vegetable export federation has urged the government to deal with the outbreak, saying it was costing Spanish exporters $200m (£120m) a week. Asked which countries had stopped buying Spanish produce, Jorge Brotons was quoted as telling a news conference: "Almost all Europe. There is a domino effect on all vegetables and fruits." Authorities in Hamburg said four suspect cucumbers found there last week - including three imported from Spain - were carrying EHEC, but not the same kind found in patients. "As before the source remains unidentified," Hamburg state health minister Cornelia Pruefer-Storcks said. "Our hope of discovering the source of the cases of severe complications with HUS unfortunately has not been fulfilled by these first results." She also defended the decision to link the outbreak to Spanish cucumbers last week. "It would have been irresponsible with this number of ill people to keep quiet about a well-grounded suspicion," she said. "Protecting people's lives is more important than economic interests." Earlier, a senior German scientist warned that the outbreak could worsen. "We hope the number of cases will go down but we fear it will worsen," said Oliver Grieve, of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein, where many victims are being treated. German authorities have warned people to avoid eating raw cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. In Sweden, authorities said there were 39 suspected E. coli infections, including 15 with HUS. On Tuesday, Swedish authorities said a woman in her 50s had died in hospital, after being admitted on Sunday following a trip to Germany. Cases have also been reported in Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the UK. Several countries have taken steps to curtail the outbreak, such as banning cucumber imports and removing the vegetables from sale.
Barça Football Club won last night their fourth Champion League Final against Manchester United at London's Wembley Stadium. Here's how British media have reported the news:
[guardian.co.uk]
Champions League press reaction: 'This Barça is the best team in the world' • Spanish press places Barcelona in the pantheon of greats.
The Spanish press were united in hailing Barcelona's victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final as a landmark for the club and for European football. As they groped for superlatives nearly all the newspapers found space for a headline containing Sir Alex Ferguson's quote: "No one has given us such a hiding." The notoriously madridista Marca saluted the victors as "A dream Barça", with all its echoes of Johan Cruyff's Dream Team of the 1990s. Indeed the paper referred to the "Pep Team" after their coach, Pep Guardiola, and described their football as "excellent".
La Vanguardia did not stint on the hyperbole with the headline: "Barcelona enters Olympus with the gods."
El País proclaimed: "Wembley falls in love with Barça." Recalling the club's first European Cup victory at the same stadium in 1992, the paper observed: "From Wembley to Wembley Barcelona has undergone an extraordinary process of maturing ... There is no better defence of an idea than victories, but there is no better victory than the fact that the stability of a club does not depend exclusively on a final result, but on a route map. That is the greatness of this Barça, which, make no mistake, will also be the principles that will enable them to vaccinate themselves in defeat."
The already pro-Barcelona Mundo Deportivo was beside itself and felt the best way to express its enthusiasm was by placing four exclamation marks after the word "Champions" (in English).
The celebrating Barcelona fans, the culés, have taken up José Mourinho's pointed question – with its suggestion of skulduggery – of "why?" do Barcelona keep winning as a chant: "por qué?". El Mundo Deportivo produced a long list of reasons why, including Guardiola's brilliance, David Villa's conclusive third goal, Eric Abidal's return from life-threatening surgery, etc...
In Barcelona 132 people, including 37 local police, were injured in disturbances as up to 50,000 people celebrated the victory on the streets. Police made 84 arrests for public order offences around Plaça de Catalunya, Las Ramblas and the Arc de Triomf which come in the wake of weeks of unrelated street protests in the Catalan capital.
Here's information on Iceland's 2011 volcano, which threats to close down European skies:
[bbc.co.uk] Iceland has closed its main international airport and cancelled domestic flights after its most active volcano, Grimsvotn, began erupting. A plume of smoke has risen 20km (12 miles) into the sky from the volcano. But Iceland's Meteorological Office says the eruption should not cause widespread disruption to air traffic. Last year, ash clouds from another Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajokul, led to the closure of a large section of European airspace. Governments feared that ash particles could cause aircraft engines to fail, and the closure caused chaos to air travellers. Different ash Hjordis Gudmundsdottir, a spokeswoman for the Isavia civil aviation authority said: "We have closed the area until we know better what effect the ash will have." The authority said Keflavik airport, the country's main hub, would remain shut for the rest of Sunday. But officials say the eruption is unlikely to have the same impact as Eyjafjallajokul in 2010. University of Iceland geophysicist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson said this was Grimsvotn's largest eruption for 100 years, "much bigger and more intensive than Eyjafjallajokull". He added: "There is a very large area in south-east Iceland where there is almost total darkness and heavy fall of ash. But it is not spreading nearly as much. The winds are not as strong as they were in Eyjafjallajokull." He said this ash was coarser than last year's eruption, falling to the ground more quickly instead of floating long distances.
Once again, we've looked at the British media to see how the news of Spain's local and regional elections has been covered:
[From bbc.co.uk]
Spain's governing Socialist party has suffered heavy losses in local and regional elections. Amid anger at the failing economy, the centre-right Popular Party (PP) won 37% of the vote to the Socialists' 28%, and nearly all the 13 regions up for grabs. Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero conceded defeat but ruled out early general elections. There was a shock result in the Basque country, where a new radical separatist alliance beat the Socialists. The new grouping, Bildu, which was nearly banned by the courts for members' alleged links to the armed group ETA, won more than 25% of the council election vote. That put it second behind the moderate Basque Nationalist Party, which won about 30%, and pushed the Socialists, with 16%, into third.
Voting took place amid mass protests against high unemployment and the government's handling of the economy. Young demonstrators holding sit-ins in Madrid and other cities said rallies would continue for another week. Mr Zapatero said three years of economic crisis had taken their toll. "It destroyed thousands of jobs. It is a crisis that had profound effects on citizens' morale. I know that many Spaniards suffer great hardship and fear for their futures," he said. "Today, without doubt, they expressed their discontent," he added. However, he vowed to pursue job-creating reforms until the end of his mandate. A general election must be held by March of next year. He has already said he will not stand for re-election.Bastions fall Jubilant PP supporters celebrated outside their party headquarters in Madrid as the final votes were being counted. The party seized power in several regions, including Castilla-La Mancha where the Socialists have always held power. In municipal elections, the PP won by about two million votes, compared to its victory margin of 150,000 in 2007.
The Socialist party also lost bastions such as the town halls in Barcelona and Seville. Prime Minister Zapatero's government has been struggling to overcome recession and create jobs. Spain's overall jobless rate soared to 21% in the first quarter of this year, the highest in the industrialised world. Youth unemployment stands at 45%. Meanwhile, thousands of young protesters remain camped out in squares across the country. What began as a sit-in in Madrid's central Puerta del Sol square a week ago has turned into a national protest movement popularly known as 15-M. About 30,000 people were estimated to have occupied the central square in the run-up to the vote. The protests, which have also taken place in cities including Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Bilbao, have so far been peaceful. Demonstrators defied a government ban on political protests on the eve of the election. On Sunday, protesters in Puerta del Sol voted to stay in the square until at least 29 May.
"Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution'" is the second single from African American contemporary folk artist Tracy Chapman. The politically aware song was released in August 1988. Internationally, this single was a big hit, reaching the Top 40 in several countries, including France and New Zealand, becoming a classic in Chapman's song repertoire. The song received heavy radio play in Tunisia in 2011 during the Tunisian Revolution and it appears here as a possible soundtrack to these days Spanish Revolution sit-ins on our streets, as the lyrics show a situation of crisis and unemployment. Here's the video with lyrics.
Video "TALKIN' 'BOUT A REVOLUTION", Tracey Chapman:
The 2011 May Spanish protests, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, Spanish revolution or Indignados (Spanish for outraged) are a series of demonstrations in Spain whose origin can be traced to social networks and the ¡Democracia Real Ya! (True Democracy Right Now!) civilian digital platform, along with 200 other small associations.
Starting on 15 May 2011 with an initial call in 58 Spanish cities,the series of peaceful protests demand a radical change in Spanish politics, as protesters don't consider themselves to be represented by any party nor favoured by the measures approved by politicians. The protests have been staged close to the municipal elections, to be held on May 22. The press has related them to the economic crisis, Stéphane Hessel's Time for Outrage!,the NEET troubled generation and current protests in the Middle East and North Africa, Greek, as well as the Icelandic protest and riots. Even though protesters form a heterogeneous and ambiguous group, they share a strong rejection against Spanish politicians, the current two-party system in Spain between PSOE and PP and political corruption and a firm support for basic rights: home, work, culture, health, education. A protester in Madrid with the hashtag #spanishrevolution in his banner. Social networks have played a decisive role in these demonstrations, but Twitter has been the most important by far, with hundreds of tweets per minute in critical moments and some hashtags becoming rapidly global trending topic, such as #DemocraciaRealYa, #NoLesVotes, #AcampadaSol or #NoNosVamos. These protests have also appeared in a critical situation: Spanish youths are academically more prepared than ever before but they're facing a 50% youth unemployment, and 89% of Spaniards think political parties only care about themselves, according to Metroscopia. Protesters' purpose is to camp in cities' main squares until May 22. There have also been several protests outside Spain: Braga, Coimbra, Faro, Lisboa and Porto in Portugal, Dublin in Ireland, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Paris in France and London in the United Kingdom.
The PS22 Chorus is an elementary school chorus from Public School 22 in Graniteville, Staten Island (New York). It is composed of 60-70 fifth-graders (10 year-olds), and is directed by Gregg Breinberg. Students are assigned to the chorus after an annual auditioning process at the beginning of each school year. PS22 is the largest elementary school in Staten Island which draws students from a wide cross section of ethnic groups and socio-economic levels. The chorus meets twice a week during school hours to practice, and performs throughout the year at school functions, local events, and on special requests. It has been featured on several major national news and music networks after its videos had gained international attention within the popular video-sharing site YouTube. As of April, 2011 the chorus’s videos have been watched more than 32,000,000 times. The PS22 chorus was founded in 2000 by the school's music teacher, Gregg Breinberg, who started blogging about it in September 2006 following requests on a Tori Amos fan page, where he had shared some of his videos. Since then the chorus has become an Internet phenomenon. The students performed at the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27, 2011, as you can see on this video:
Their latest is a cover version of Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart" –which has, in just over a day, already had over 25,800 views.
Last Wednesday afternoon, two earthquakes shook the town of Lorca (Murcia) in the southeast of Spain. The news has had coverage on the British media. We have found some examples:
[From bbc.co.uk]
Hundreds of people have spent the night outdoors in the southern Spanish town of Lorca after an earthquake which killed at least 9 people. The magnitude-5.2 tremor toppled several buildings after striking at a depth of just 1km (0.6 miles), 120km south-west of Alicante. Lines of cars lay crushed under tonnes of rubble and a hospital was evacuated as a precaution. Wednesday evening's quake came about two hours after a 4.4-magnitude tremor. It is not clear how many people were injured, although Spanish media say there are dozens. Military deployed Spanish TV captured dramatic images of a church bell tower crashing to the ground, landing just metres from a cameraman. Shocked residents and workers rushed out of buildings and gathered in squares, parks and open spaces. Old buildings were badly damaged. As night fell many people were still too afraid to return to their homes. "The whole of the centre of Lorca has been seriously damaged," a delegate from the regional government of Murcia told national radio. "There are thousands of very disorientated people." A doctor told the online edition of El Pais that she and her colleagues went into the streets and treated people with serious injuries, many of them "unconscious".
Video report from ITN-News with footage from RTVE:
Severiano "Seve" Ballesteros Sota (9 April 1957 – 7 May 2011) was a Spanish professional golfer, a World No. 1 who was one of the sport's leading figures from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s. He announced himself to the golfing world in 1976, when at the age of 19 he finished second at The Open Championship. A member of a gifted golfing family, Ballesteros won five major tournaments between the years of 1979 and 1988, including The Open Championship three times, and The Masters twice. He was also successful in the Ryder Cup, helping the European team to five wins both as a player and captain. He is best known for his great short game, and his erratic driving of the golf ball. Because of back-related injuries, Ballesteros struggled with form during the 1990s. In spite of this, he continued to be involved in the game of golf, creating the Seve Trophy and running a golf course design business. Ballesteros eventually retired from competitive golf in 2007 because of continued poor form, and in 2008 was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. After reports that Ballesteros would make a return to the spotlight at the 2010 Open Championship, following the advice of doctors, he did not travel to St Andrews in 2010 for the Open Championship. Ballesteros was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for the second time at the BBC Sports Personality Awards 2009. He was presented with the award at his home in Spain by his friend, compatriot and former Ryder Cup team-mate José María Olazábal. Ballesteros died of brain cancer on 7 May 2011, aged 54.
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011) was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the jihadist organization al-Qaeda, responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. As a result of his dealings in and advocacy of violent extremist jihad, Osama bin Laden lost his Saudi citizenship and was disowned by his billionaire family. Osama bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings. Since 2001, Osama bin Laden and his organization had been major targets of the U.S. War on Terror. He was believed to be hiding near the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas with fellow al-Qaeda leaders. On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden was killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan in an operation conducted by a small group of American military forces and the Central Intelligence Agency.
Video Obama's statement to the world on Bin Laden's death+a short Bin Laden's biography:
Video first 5 minutes CNN TV coverage on 9/112001:
Interest on the latest British Royal Wedding has been big. Two billion people around the world are said to have tuned in. It has been the biggest media event ever staged in the UK and the TV companies from all over the world are pulling out all the stops – putting cameras all over the country and using their most popular presenters and knowledgeable experts to tempt viewers.Our interest here is because you can hear some English once again.
Jaume San Llorente Trepat was born in Barcelona on 9th July 1976. He studied journalism at Bareclona's Ramón Llull University, later specializing in finantial journalism. He was delegate for Catalonia of the Comercio Exterior magazine. After several years devoted to finantial press, he went on holidays to India for the first time in 2003. He was shoked by the existing poverty there, particularly by the vulnerability of small children on the streets of Bombay, where kidnappings and child exploitation were frequent in slums, such as Kamathipura. After discovering a small orphanage about to close for economic reasons, Jaume Sanllorente decided to give up his job and life in Barcelona, to prevent its closure and to create the Spanish non governmental organization Sonrisas de Bombay ("Bombay smiles").
Fortunately. we've found a video in English with Jaume Sanllorente's story of how he created Bombay Smiles. Take a look...
Isaac Asimov (born in Petrovici in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 9,000 letters. Isaac Asimov is widely considered a master of science fiction. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series, both of which he later tied into the same fictional universe as the Foundation Series to create a unified "future history" for his stories.
Our school's library blog has posted an Asimov's interview, dated back in 1988, for an American TV programme presented by Bill Moyers "The World of Ideas", where Isaac clearly predicts the impact of the Internet on learning 23 years before! As the interview is in English, with Spanish subtitles, we've considered it interesting to post it here, too.
Video interview with Isaac Asimov predicting the impact of the Internet (1988):
World Book and Copyright Day (also known as International Day of the Book or World Book Days) is a yearly event on 23 April, organized by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copyright. The Day was first celebrated in 1995.
The connection between 23 April and books was first made in 1923 by booksellers in Spain as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes who died on that day. This became a part of the celebrations of the Saint George's Day (also 23 April) in Catalonia, where it has been traditional since the medieval era for men to give roses to their lovers and since 1925 for the woman to give a book in exchange. Half the yearly sales of books in Catalonia are at this time with over 400,000 sold and exchanged for over 4 million roses. In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on this date because of the Catalonian festival and because the date is also the anniversary of the birth and death of William Shakespeare, the death of Miguel de Cervantes.
Although 23 April is often stated as the anniversary of the deaths of both Shakespeare and Cervantes, this is not strictly correct. Cervantes died on 23 April according the Gregorian calendar; however, at this time England still used the Julian calendar. Whilst Shakespeare died on 23 April by the Julian calendar in use in his own country at the time, actually he died ten days after Cervantes, because of the discrepancy between the two date systems. The apparent correspondence of the two dates was a fortunate coincidence for UNESCO.
