Teresa's English Corner

Long time no see

Teresa Escardó — Sun, 16 Dec 2012 19:21:59 +0000

It’s been a long time since my last post and I am going to keep it short. Here is a link to a video that I am sure you will appreciate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyHVAucpzRU

A good story can save the day!

The dangers of literal translation

Teresa Escardó — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:18:44 +0000

For Spanish speakers only…

Go the f**k to sleep

Teresa Escardó — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:51:16 +0000

Have you ever suffered from sleep deprivation at the hands of your children? In those long, dark helpless nights of torture, you feel like weeping, like pleading to your offspring for mercy. Or maybe just telling him to go the f**k to sleep. Well, Adam Mansbach knows the feeling and has written a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where bedtime stories and white noise don’t always send children to dreamland.

In Go the Fuck to Sleep Adam Mansbach captures the familiar–and unspoken–tribulations of putting your little one down for the night. With verses like “The flowers doze low in the meadows, and high on the mountains so steep. My life is a failure, I’m a shitty-ass parent. Stop fucking with me, please, and sleep,” and adorably dreamy illustrations by Ricardo Cortés, the book opens up a conversation about parenting, granting us permission to admit our frustrations, and laugh at their absurdity.

“I wanted to sort of do a riff on these classic children’s books that are all like very dreamy, and gauzy and loving and have little animals and stuff, and I wanted to contrast that with the interior monologue of the parent putting the kid to sleep,” said Mansbach.

The book has become a huge success, though. It was released in June with advance sales of over 100,00 copies and it’s already in its fifth print. Now, an audio narration by actor Samuel L. Jackson is bringing the rhymes to life, you can’t miss it:

http://youtu.be/5yqVnCAiWHw

On Women

Teresa Escardó — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:25:26 +0000

Long time no see…

Seeing that today is Women’s International day, here’s some food for thought!

http://www.ted.com/talks/liza_donnelly_drawing_upon_humor_for_change.html

The Digital Story of Nativity

Teresa Escardó — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:32:18 +0000

Christmas story told through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Wikipedia, Google Maps, GMail, Foursquare, Amazon…

Times change!

Changing Paradigms in Education

Teresa Escardó — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:45:11 +0000

If you have ever wondered why education is in such a sorry state, watch the following video and you’ll be enlightened…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Animal rights

Teresa Escardó — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:01:46 +0000

When most countries in Europe are passing emergency laws and measures to help us get out of this recession, the Swiss are debating -‘debating’ as in a public referendum – whether part of the taxpayer’s monies should be destined to providing animals with lawyers. Yep, lawyers.

I am all for animal rights – don’t get me wrong – even if I’m no activist. I don’t approve of bullfighting (currently under heated debate in Spain), animal testing or any kind of cruelty inflicted on animals; but believe me when or if I am born again I would like to come back to this world as a dog – or, on second thoughts, a horse – in Switzerland. I have not gone mad… yet. Please, indulge me and keep reading.

Under the current Swiss legislation fishermen need to get sensitivity training, that is, they need to learn how to catch fish humanely; dog owners need to ‘qualify’ , e. g. take a course, in order to receive a license to own a dog; horses must be kept in close proximity to other horses, and any animal considered social – including goldfish – must be kept with at least one other of its kind. Talk about leading a dog’s life…

However, after months of campaigning in the local press for the creation of a public legal office for animal rights in each of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, voters have rejected the proposal with 70.5 percent of Swiss voting no.

I wonder, are you better off being a dog than an immigrant in Switzerland? I rest my case…

Are you obsessed with ‘Lost’?

Teresa Escardó — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:57:44 +0000

Has watching ‘Lost’ become an obsession, brotha?

Seriously, watch this video of David Letterman’s show to find out about the tell-tale signs according to Hurley.

‘Lost’

Teresa Escardó — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 08:35:54 +0000

It’s been a long time, but it feels great…this post is just a little something to get me back on track. It’s especially dedicated to ‘Lost’ fans – I used to be one myself, but one can’t simply keep up with everything…
Anyway, here it is. Have fun!

Is beauty overrated?

Teresa Escardó — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:49:49 +0000

A Mercedes-Benz commercial: