Steffie

Et si je vous emmenais faire la connaissance d'une copine hollandaise, qui va vous expliquer deux ou trois trucs de la vie courante aux Pays-Bas. Elle parle clairement, elle répète si on lui demande gentiment, et elle n'est pas vraiment désagréable à regarder. Et on en ressort un peu plus malin ...
Allez voir, et puis n'hésitez pas à envoyer un commentaire pour que les visiteurs suivants sachent si ça vaut la peine ...

L'artiste de la saison : Bruce Springsteen

Bon, là, je reconnais que c'est un peu tiré par les cheveux. Nous sommes au printemps, qui se dit en anglais "Spring".
J'ai vu récemment un épisode de "Cold Cases", dans lequel tous les événements marquants de la vie des protagonistes étaient marqués par les chansons de ce très grand rockeur, et ça m'a donné envie de le redécouvrir. Vous avez ici accès à une petite vingtaine de ses meilleurs succès.

Rien ni personne ne vous empêche, bien entendu, d'aller voir - et entendre - son site personnel, où vous trouverez toutes les paroles de toutes les chansons, dont vous pouvez d'ailleurs entendre le classique extrait de 30 secondes.
Je ne résiste pas à l'envie de vous reproduire ci-dessous le texte de ma préférée.
The River
I come from down in the valley
where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
when she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields were green

We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride

Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress

That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride

I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care

But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride

Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)

Columbia Records
© 2005 Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Inc.
Cette chanson a fait l'objet d'un "plan-langue" sur "Classic 21"; on devrait pouvoir retrouver le podcast par I-tunes, mais en ce moment, j'ai mon fils de 21 mois sur les genoux, ce qui limite ma capacité à continuer les recherches. Les paroles sont traduites dans la page des archives.

L'artiste du mois : Avril Lavigne

Je sais, c'est un peu bateau comme titre, et en plus c'est copié ... à vous de me dire sur qui ... je vous mets sur la voie, c'est une annonce radio pour promouvoir un magazine flamand.
Regardez plutôt ce que je vous ai déniché.

C'est l'occasion de lancer un appel : si quelqu'un sait comment je peux intégrer sur ma page les paroles des chansons sur un pavé pas plus grand que celui de la vidéo, en déroulant cliquable, pour suivre les paroles sans devoir lacher la vidéo des yeux, je le remercie de m'envoyer un commentaire avec les codes nécessaires pour ça.

Blender

I found this definition :
blend·er  (blndr)

n.

One that blends, especially an electrical appliance with whirling blades for chopping, mixing, or liquefying foods.
It seems some people didn't read the definition until the last word : "FOODS" it says !
Well, I must thank one of my students for sending me this link to a crazy website you can visit just by clicking on the name "Will it blend ?"
Now, I couldn't resist to the fun, and I checked YouTube to find out weather those crazy vids were also available, and they are, all of them!
I selected the most appropriated for my students in IT. I like his humour about blending the ashtray users !

Our greatest fear

De fil en aiguille
En publiant la vidéo de "Hope" par Twista, j'étais intrigué par les images de Samuel L Jackson, et du jeune homme qui y récite quelque chose comme un poème. En examinant la question de plus près, j'ai compris que la chanson avait servi dans la scène finale d'un film dont cette séquence est extraite, et dont voici l'affiche.Le poème qu'il récite, nous informe Wikipedia, dans l'article sur Coach Carter, est une citation de Marianne Williamson, que je reproduis ci-dessous en entier. Un mythe veut que ces mots aient été prononcés par Nelson Mandela dans son discours inaugural, mais ce n'est pas le cas si l'on en croit cette autre page.
"...Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Quoi qu'il en soit, ces paroles sont magnifiques, et sont à méditer par chacun d'entre nous.
C'est pourquoi, je vous restitue l'extrait en question :
:

Hope

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of perseverance — i.e., believing that a positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Beyond the basic definition, usage of the term hope follows some basic patterns which distinguish its usage from related terms:

• Hopefulness is somewhat different from optimism in that hope is an emotional state, whereas optimism is a conclusion reached through a deliberate thought pattern that leads to a positive attitude. But hope and optimism both can be based in unrealistic belief, or fantasy.
• Hope is often the result of faith in that while hope is an emotion, faith carries a divinely inspired and informed form of positive belief. Hope is typically contrasted with despair, but despair may also refer to a crisis of faith, or otherwise an ignorance thereof. Hence, when used in a religious context, hope carries a connotation being aware of spiritual truth. (In some religions, despair itself is considered to be a sin; see Hope (virtue)).
• In Catholic theology, hope is one of the three theological virtues, which are spiritual gifts of God. In contrast to the above, it is not a physical emotion, but a spiritual grace.
• Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or systematic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism.
• The term false hope refers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

Examples of hopes include hoping to get rich, hoping for someone to be cured of a disease, hoping to be done with a term paper, or hoping that a person has reciprocal feelings of love.

(from Wikipedia).
Pour illustrer l'espoir, j'ai choisi la chanson intitulée Hope de Twista (accompagné pour l'occasion de Faith Evans). Pas étonnant qu'il ait porté pendant un certain temps le titre de rapper le plus rapide du monde. Entraînez-vous à prononcer les paroles pendant qu'il chante ! On peut toujours espérer.

EIM Starter Unit 1 Vocabulary

answer	n	réponse	what you say or write back to someone who has asked you a question	I asked him if he was going but I didn't hear his answer.	antwoord
bad	adj	mauvais	not good or pleasant	bad weather	slecht
big	adj	grand	large in size or amount	I come from a big family.	groot
board	n	planche	a flat object or surface used for a particular purpose	an ironing board	plank
book	n	livre	a set of pages with writing on them fastened together in a cover	I've just read a really good book.	boek
boring	adj	ennuyeux	not interesting or exciting	a boring job	saai
can	v	pouvoir	to be able to do something	Can you drive?	kunnen
cassette	n	cassette	a flat, plastic case containing a long piece of magnetic material that is used to record and play sound and pictures	a video cassette	cassetteband
CD	n	CD	a small disc on which music or information is recorded	I was listening to my new CD.	cd
chair	n	chaise	a seat for one person, with a back and usually four legs	Here, have a chair.	stoel
cheap	adj	bon marché	not expensive, or costing less than usual	a cheap flight/restaurant	goedkoop
cinema	n	cinéma	a building where you go to watch films	Shall we go to the cinema?	bioscoop
city	n	ville	a large town	the city of Boston	stad
computer	n	ordinateur	an electronic machine that can store and arrange large amounts of information	We've put all our records on computer.	computer
computer game	n	jeu sur ordinateur	a game which you play on a computer	He's always playing computer games.	computerspel
correct	adj	correct	accurate, or having no mistakes	Check that you have the correct information.	juist
desk	n	bureau	a table that you sit at to write or work	He was sitting at his desk.	bureau
door	n	porte	the part of a building or room that you open or close to get inside it or out of it	Please shut the door behind you.	deur
excellent	adj	excellent	very good, or of a very high quality	That was an excellent meal.	voortreffelijk
expensive	adj	cher	costing a lot of money	The hotel was very expensive.	duur
film	n	film	a story shown at the cinema or on television	a cowboy film	film
football	n	football	a game in which two teams of players kick a round ball and try to score goals	a game of football	voetbal
football team	n	équipe de football	a group of people who play football together	What football team do you support?	voetbalploeg
from		de	used to show the place or time that someone or something started at	Did you walk all the way from Bond Street?	vanaf
good	adj	bon	enjoyable or pleasant	I'm reading a really good book.	goed
hamburger	n	hamburger	a round, flat shape of meat which is eaten between round pieces of bread	a hamburger and fries	hamburger
homework	n	devoirs	work which teachers give students to do at home	Have you done your homework yet?	huiswerk
hotel	n	hôtel	a place where you pay to stay when you are away from home	We spent our honeymoon in a luxury hotel.	hotel
I know.		Je sais.	used when you agree with something someone has just said	"She's so rude sometimes." "I know."	Ik weet het.
I can help you.		Je peux t'aider.	something you say when you want to offer assistance to someone	"I can't do my homework." "I can help you."	Ik kan u helpen.
I don't understand.		Je ne comprends pas.	something you say when something is not clear	"Meet me at 7pm." "I don't understand – I thought we said 7.30."	Ik begrijp het niet.
in		dans , à	inside a container or place	a shop in South London	in
interesting	adj	intéressant	keeping your attention	It's a very interesting film.	interessant
know	v	savoir	to have information about something in your mind	Andrew knows a lot about computers.	weten
man	n	homme	an adult male human	a young man	man
men	n	hommes	plural of 'man'	young men	mannen
message	n	message	a piece of written or spoken information which one person gives to another	Did you get my message?	bericht
museum	n	musée	a building where you can look at important objects connected with art, history, or science	a museum of modern art	museum
name	n	nom	the word or group of words that is used to refer to a person, thing, or place	What's your name?	naam
new	adj	nouveau	recently made	Are those new trousers?	nieuw
No problem.		Aucun problème.	something that you say to mean you can or will do what someone has asked you to do	"Can you take me to the station?" "Sure, no problem."	Geen probleem.
notebook	n	carnet	a book with empty pages that you can write in	I take my notebook to meetings.	notitieboekje
old	adj	vieux	having lived or existed for a long time	an old man	oud
on		sur	on a surface of something	I put the book on that shelf.	op
open	v	ouvrir	if you open something, you make it change to a position that is not closed	Could you open the window?	openen
page	n	page	a piece of paper in a book, magazine, etc, or one side of a piece of paper	The article is on page 36.	pagina
pen	n	stylo	a long, thin object that you use to write or draw in ink	Could I use your pen?	pen
pencil	n	crayon de papier	a long, thin wooden object with a black or coloured point that you write or draw with	It was written in pencil.	potlood
people	n	gens	more than one person	Our company employs over 400 people.	mensen
person	n	personne	a human being	You're the only person I know here.	persoon
phone	n	téléphone	a piece of equipment that is used to talk to someone who is in another place	Who's on the phone?	telefoon
pizza	n	pizza	a flat, round piece of bread covered with tomato, cheese, etc and cooked in an oven	Italian pizza	pizza
read	v	lire	to look at words and understand what they mean	What was the last book you read?	lezen
restaurant	n	restaurant	a place where you can buy and eat a meal	an Italian restaurant	restaurant
sandwich	n	sandwich	two slices of bread with meat, cheese, etc between them	a cheese sandwich	boterham
singer	n	chanteur	someone who sings	a jazz singer	zanger
small	adj	petit	little in size or amount	We teach the children in small groups.	klein
Sorry, I don't know.		Désolé, je ne sais pas.	something you say when you don't know the answer to a question	"Do you know where the Post Office is?" "Sorry, I don't know."	Sorry, ik weet het niet.
taxi	n	taxi	a car with a driver who you pay to take you somewhere	I'll take a taxi to the airport.	taxi
teacher	n	enseignant	someone whose job is to teach in a school, college, etc	a science teacher	leraar/lerares
Thanks.		Merci.	used to tell someone that you are grateful to them	Can you pass me the book? Thanks very much.	Dank je wel.
That's correct.		C'est correct.	used when you agree with something someone has just said	"5x5 is 25." "That's correct."	Dat is juist.
TV	n	télé	television	What's on TV tonight?	televisie
video	n	vidéo	a plastic box that you put into a machine in order to record a television programme or watch a programme that is already recorded	I saw both films on video.	video
what		que	used to ask for information about something	What are you doing?	wat
What's the answer?		Quelle est la réponse ?	used to ask someone what the answer is.	"Joe! Stop sleeping in class. What's the answer?" "Sorry, I don't know."	Wat is het antwoord.
window	n	fenêtre	a space in the wall of a building or vehicle that has glass in it, used for letting light and air inside and for looking through	Open the window if you're too hot.	raam
woman	n	femme	an adult female person	a 30-year-old woman	vrouw
women	n	femmes	plural of 'woman'	young women	vrouwen
Yes, great.		Oui, très bien.	something you say when you think something is really good	"Do you want to come to my party?" "Yes, great."	Ja, goed.

EIM Starter Unit 2 Vocabulary

actor	n	acteur	someone, especially a man, who performs in plays and films	Who's your favourite actor?	acteur
address	n	adresse	the number of a building and the name of the street, city, etc where it is	What's your address?	adres
American	adj	américain	coming from or relating to America	I’ve got an American car.	Amerikaans
Australian	adj	australien	coming from or relating to Australia	This is an Australian soap opera.	Australisch
be	v	être	a verb used when describing someone or something	I'm Maria.	zijn
be	v	être	used to show that someone or something exists	There are three of us.	zijn
be	v	être	used to show where someone or something is	She is in the kitchen.	zijn
be	v	être	used to give a fact or your opinion about something	It's a good idea.	zijn
Belgian	adj	belge	coming from or relating to Belgium	This is Belgian cheese.	Belgisch
Belgium	n	Belgique	a country in Europe	He’s from Belgium.	België
best friend	n	meilleur ami	a friend that you like most of all your friends and spend the most time with	Gemma was my best friend at school.	beste vriend
Brazil	n	Brésil	a country in South America	My brother lives in Brazil.	Brazilië
Brazilian	adj	brésilien	coming from or relating to Brazil	My sister’s husband is Brazilian.	Braziliaans
Britain	n	Grande-Bretagne	a country in Europe	She’s from Britain.	Groot-Brittannië
British	adj	britannique	relating to Great Britain or the United Kingdom	She’s British.	Brits
Canada	n	Canada	a country in North America	My sister lives in Canada.	Canada
China	n	Chine	a country in Asia	She’s from China.	China
Chinese	adj	chinois	relating to China	I like Chinese food.	Chinees
England	n	Angleterre	a country in Europe	My sister lives in England.	Engeland
English	adj	anglais	relating to England	I’m English.	Engels
father	n	père	your male parent	My father is French.	vader
film star	n	vedette de cinéma	a famous cinema actor or actress	All the big film stars were there.	filmster
flag	n	drapeau	a piece of cloth with a special design and colours, that is the symbol of a country or group	the French flag	vlag
footballer	n	footballeur	someone who plays football, especially as their job	He's a famous footballer.	voetballer
French	adj	français	relating to France	French bread	Frans
friend	n	ami	someone who you know well and like	I had dinner with a few friends.	vriend
Germany	n	Allemagne	a country in Europe	My brother lives in Germany.	Duitsland
girl	n	fille	a female child or young woman	We have three children - a boy and two girls.	meisje
golfer	n	golfeur	someone who plays golf (=a game on grass where you try to hit a small ball into holes using a long, thin stick)	Tiger Woods is a famous golfer.	golfer
great	adj	formidable	very good	We had a great time.	geweldig
hero	n	héros	the main man in a book or film	He's the hero of her latest novel.	held
heroine	n	héroïne	the main woman or girl in a book or film	The heroine of her latest novel is a girl of 13.	heldin
How (old)		Quel (âge)	used to ask about quantity, size, or age	How old is he?	hoe (oud)
Irish	adj	irlandais	relating to Ireland	Irish music/culture	Iers
Italian	adj	italien	coming from or relating to Italy	Italian wine	Italiaans
Italy	n	Italie	a country in Europe	My sister lives in Italy.	Italië
Japan	n	Japon	a country consisting of a group of islands near the east coast of Asia	My uncle lives in Japan.	Japan
mobile phone	n	téléphone portable	a telephone that you can carry everywhere with you	I use a mobile phone a lot for work	mobiele telefoon
model	n	mannequin	someone whose job is wearing clothes for photographs or fashion shows	He's married to a Brazilian model.	model
mother	n	mère	your female parent	My mother lives in Paris.	moeder
Norway	n	Norvège	a country in Europe	My brother lives in Norway.	Noorwegen
player	n	joueur	someone who plays a sport or game	tennis players	speler
Poland	n	Pologne	a country in Europe	My brother lives in Poland.	Polen
Polish	adj	polonais	relating to Poland	My teacher is Polish.	Pools
Portugal	n	Portugal	a country in Europe	My sister lives in Portugal.	Portugal
right	adj	correct	correct or true	He only got half the answers right.	goed
Russia	n	Russie	a country in Europe	My uncle lives in Russia.	Rusland
school	n	école	a place where children go to be educated	Which school do you go to?	school
Spain	n	Espagne	a country in Europe	My aunt lives in Spain.	Spanje
Spanish	adj	espagnol	relating to Spain	Spanish olives	Spaans
star	n	vedette	a famous singer, actor, sports person, etc	She interviews all the stars.	ster
Swedish	adj	suédois	relating to Sweden	My mother is Swedish.	Zweeds
Switzerland	n	Suisse	a country in Europe	My teacher comes from Switzerland.	Zwitserland
tennis	n	tennis	a sport in which two or four people hit a small ball to each other over a net	He's a famous tennis player.	tennis
think	v	penser	to have an opinion about something or someone	I think he's right.	denken
think	v	penser	to consider an idea or problem	I was just thinking about Jake.	denken
Turkey	n	Turquie	a country in Asia	My brother lives in Turkey.	Turkije
Turkish	adj	turc	relating to Turkey	Turkish dates	Turks
where		où	used to ask about the place or position of someone or something	Where do you live?	waar
who		qui	used to ask about someone's name or which person or group someone is talking about	Who told you?	wie
winner	n	gagnant	someone who wins a game, competition, or election	the winners of the World Cup	winnaar