Names

Hiya! How’s it going!? The other day I came across this expression : “ a jack of all trades” (which is used to talk about someone who is not particularly skilled at a job, i.e. someone that doesn’t have a degree in sth, but that may know a little about everything, because he has learned or studied a bit of every subject.), and by chance, I’ve found that English speakers, mainly Americans, use names to label people due to their personality traits or their physical appearance. In the main, Americans make use of such names so as not to sound obvious that they are feeling attracted by,getting at,or speaking ill of certain people. Of course, these expressions are used when the register is informal. If this piece of information catches your fancy, check out the meanings below! Hope you enjoy it :) !

A Kyle : Kyle is a way to describe a man (or a way to call a man) who is favored by most and many women for obvious reason. How to spot a Kyle: Looks. He is insanely gorgeous, and normally would have brown/black hair with bright brown eyes. Personality? He's cruel to people he doesn't know, but once you get in his inner circle, he's the nicest man in the world. He is generous, but knows when he's giving too much. He is funny, but knows when to be serious. He knows exactly how to make people smile, no matter how serious you might be. If you ever bump into a Kyle, try to get him. Because it will be the best thing you'll ever do in your entire life. He's worth everything you've got to offer, but he won't ask for it.
E.g. : My friend is definitely a Kyle. I want him so bad!

A Kevin: a person who is dirty, smells of B.O. (Body Odour), or never takes a shower.A jocker, a person with no friends. A lame person in general
E.g. : Damn, your dog’s a kevin!

A Joey: Brit slang. Insult. Term used to denote someone who has performed an act of unparalelled stupidity. The name is an abbreviation of a highly publicised sufferer of cerebral palsy in the 1980's called Joey Deacon. His name lives on in playgrounds and workplaces across the country everytime someone fails to engage their brain. Insult often combined with a forcing of the tongue firmly into the lower lip with an accompanying "mmmmmmmuuhh" sound.
E.g. :"Mate, you won't believe what Dave just did"

"What?"

"He just sent a naughty text message to his girlfriend Monica"

"So?"

"He sent the message to the other 'M' in his phone book by mistake. He's on the phone to his mother now trying to explain."

"Hahahaha. What a f****** Joey."

www.urbandictionary.com

A pain in the neck!

Has it ever happened to you that you’re watching the juiciest part of a movie, all very frightened, interested or excited when the movie, out of the blue just comes to a halt for...the bloody advertisements?! Oh boy, it’s just so irritating that I cannot take it. I cannot get used to watching a movie after so many breaks. I’m pretty sure you can totally put yourself in my shoes, after all, who enjoys a movie in such a way? But the bottom line is that these breaks are for commercials to hold the floor, do you have an idea of how negatively they can influence us? Let me share my views on this matter with you!

They have become part of our lives. Either on the T.V, radio or even on the streets, we are constantly bombarded by them. We can not escape from them - advertisements are everywhere. Let’s face it . They have serious consequences on us, having an impact on our private lives, our culture, and on the way we take in the information they transmit to us.

Advertisements are flooding into our private lives. Doubtless, it happens to most of us that while watching our favourite T.V show, comfortly sitting on a sofa at home, our hilarious, conflicting or mysteriously intriguing programme is disrupted by a string of annoying, never-ending commercials. Or even worse, while watching a movie that is reaching its climax, what happens then ? Advertisements! This may have a negative influence on people’s mood as it takes away from them the only moment they have to unwind and leave all worries behind. It is just NOT fair.

Apart from breaking our concentration, or ceasing our sense of adrenaline rush when watching or listening to something, advertisements also intrude with our culture. They try to mould our preferences into what is most convinient for big firms to persuade us to buy their products. Corporations launch products into markets which never before used to consume them, trying to change in this way the customs and tastes of different societies all over the world just for companies’ only benefit.

Finally, as to the way we make sense of the underlying message they so subtly provide us with, advertisements are responsible for evoking certain images or patterns of behaviour that appear to be the right models to follow. Imposing such models as unique forces people to change their looks and their minds , and if this is taken to extremes, without a doubt, it may absolutely do away with our essence : individuality and uniqueness.

Buenos Aires takes our breath away

Hi girls! Hope you’re enjoying your pseudo–holidays! Lol! Here I am again, this time writing to tell you that last week I thought I needed a break from my family and my studies, so I asked my boyfriend what he thought about the idea of running away somewhere just for the weekend, and he totally agreed it was a great idea, and he went on asking me which destination was the most suitable for such a short trip, and, as usual, we certainly coincided that, by far, Bs As was the best getaway! Every so often, we catch a bus to Bs As to spend the weekend, we just love it ! Let me here tell you why we are so fond of Bs As ...!

What we find particularly attractive about the capital city is its stimulating culture, youthful energy and its vibrant nightlife. Bs As is a massive city, bustling with life and energy 24/7! So it doesn’t matter if you stop off during the week or by the weekend, you can always find interesting things to do and places to visit! During the day we usually pop quickly into the Malba museum to whiz around the current exhibition, which is, in the main, worth seeing. This time there was an over-the-top collection of paintings, sculptures and photographs, all concerning the 20th century Latin American Art - absolutely dazzling!

No matter how many times we do it, whenever we go to Bs As, we never tire of taking a stroll up the San Telmo market on a Sunday morning, where we can browse the great variety of hip and funky items, sold at the many stalls that are standing in line, on both sides, all along Defensa Street. The atmosphere here is very lively and cheerful, always charged with excitement; streets are mainly packed with hordes of young tourists who seem to be having great fun with their friends as they are exploring the so intriguing Latin America culture. At mid-day, we usually give ourselves a treat by ordering a roast beef like no other at one the many cosy spots San Telmo offers! Afterwards, we may head down to La Boca neighbourhood, just to chill out while listening to tango and having some coffee.

Bs As nightlife is, to our way of seeing it, one of the main highlights of any visit to the capital. We reckon it’s the underground bars, with their own different style, that make hanging out at Bs As so very special. For a guaranteed choice, if you’re big on rock music, we heartily recommend that you check out these places: Salon Pueyrredon, Acabar and Sugar. They are all nearby Palermo Hollywood neighbourhood – I know this neighbourhood sounds like a fancy, swanky place, though those pubs are by no means posh or stylish. If you head to these places, you’ll definitely rock the night away!

I hope after reading this Bs As will start growing on you ;) ! Just give it a chance, and go visit it for a couple of days, you’ll see you’ll find it such a great city too!

Jealous vs Envious

Sam: Which country on the Planet is most hated?

Pat: I don't know, which?

Sam: The United States. Which country do most people list as the most desirable place on the planet to live?

Pat: I don't know, which?

Sam: The United States.

Pat: How can that be?

Sam: Obviously they're.....(envious or jealous??)

Which option would you choose to complete the above dialogue??
Well, the correct answer is that you may actually use both! This is the exact point of my post today!The use of these 2 words really caught my attention once, so that's why I was keen on making a comment about them. Hope you find this helpful and interesting!

To my surprise, I heard that many times natives tend to use the word jealous in the same contexts in which we may have expected the use of the word envious instead .I looked them up in the dictionary to find out in what they differ. Then the meanings I found are the following:

Jealous ( of sb/sth ): feeling angry or unhappy because you wished you had sth sb else has ( Oxford Dictionary )
Eg: she’s jealous of my success
Children often feel jealous when a new baby arrives
Envious ( of sb/sth ) : wanting to be in the same situation as sb else ; wanting sth that sb else has. ( Oxford Dictionary )
Eg : they were envious of his success.
everyone is so envious of her.

.... Still, you may wonder then what the difference between them is. Even though their meaning, as you see, is very similar , we may even say they are synonyms, I ‘ve noticed that they mainly differ in the fact that jealous can also be used in a positive way. Jealous would then be like our “envidia sana “ . Check out these example that’ll help grasp this meaning of jealous:

Your hair looks shiny and smooth, I’m so jealous!
I’m so jealous you had the chance to travel all around the world! You ‘re just so lucky!

In addition to this meaning, jealous also means “being threatened by a rival in a romantic relationship or losing something of value to another person which happens to be yours already “,according to the urban dictionary. Certainly, this meaning is not shared with envious. An example of jealous in this sense would be :

She was really jealous of his boyfriend’s gilrfriends.


To sum up, jealous and envious can be used interchangeably when the meaning is negative and when it implies “feeling hatred/bitterness towards another person for having an advantage that YOU don't have(urban dictionary)”. Though when we mean we like or want something we lack, in a positive, friendly-like way, or when such a feeling is connected with a love relationship, feeling hate or bitterness towards others we may consider rivals, in any case, the term we use is jealous and NOT envious.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jealous

Muggles Away

If you are a Harry Potter fan, as I am myself, this juicy piece of news which I came across a couple of days ago may then absolutely catch your fancy! Guess what! The sooo awaited Harry Potter theme park has just opened in Florida!I couldn't believe my eyes when I read this article on the Guardian website, so I thought it as a more than interesting topic to share on my journal with you :)! Read it and spread the word to other fans!

Yes, fantasy became real. At this park, you can embark on the most thrilling voyage of discovery to unravel some of the intriguing mysteries of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy by engaging in one of the most nerve-racking ride ever : the GCI ride through scenes from a Harry Potter movie. According to the Guardian's article, in this 3D ride park-goers may fly over the forbidden forest, play Quidditch with Harry and Ron and come face-to-face with hollowed-eyed dementors.

An intense experience, huh? Well, there's more to it! Over and above, this impressive theme park replicates Harry Potter's world in EVERY way you may possibly imagine. For instance, if you are hungry while at the park, you can only buy food or beverages that are authentic to Harry's wizarding world. This means that you can grab a bite of porridge, cournish pasties, not to mention that you can have pumpking juice and butterbeer . I know all these things may have once sounded either inedible or undrinkable, but the fun part though is that you might end up acquiring a taste for them!

For more information about this FUNtastic theme park click on the link bellow! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did ;)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/jun/18/harry-potter-theme-park

Glastonbury Festival

Mates, what would you say if I told you that you had the opportunity to buy a ticket that would stand you a chance to go and see the sweetest legendary bands ever in just 3 days? Wouldn't this be the hottest ticket in the world??! Well , you're just a click away - scroll down your mouse and find out!!

It is one of the largest world attractions. Glastonbury Festival is an interesting blend of open-air music and performing arts festival. The event is generally held every last week of June (lasting 3 days), in the village of Pilton, located in Sommerset, England. It precisely takes place on a farm called Worthy Farm, which, for a week, gets loaded with tents and motorhomes as festival-goers arrive to make their 3-days stay.

Glastonbury Festival, A.K.A. Glasto, is an unforgettable experience which is best known as a fun-packed fest of, mainly, music. What might struck you as the best festival of all times is that Glastonbury is like lots of different festivals converging all on the same venue. Then, no doubt there's nowhere near a festival as unique as Glastonbury. Festival-goers get absolutely drawn to different music bands or singers, ranging from independent rock to mainstream pop, all of which perform simultaneously across 9 main stages. And this is not all - the Glastonbury experience is not at all complete if you haven't given a shot at the myriad of other attractions at hand! The area where the festival is held is split into several subareas, each featuring its own special attractions. So there's THE DANCE VILLAGE, where you may join ravers and disco dancers at one of the many dance tents to dance the night away; there's THE GREEN FIELDS, delivering gripping talks on alternative therapies and natural food as well as various kinds of workshops; there's THE CIRCUS AND THEATRE FIELDS, which offer kid-friendly entertainment such as puppet shows; there's THE CINEMA FIELDS, which, naturally, shows all manner of films; and last but not least, there's THE PARK, which includes stalls selling whatever you may imagine from food to crafts.

...Sounds like Glasto is really a must for the winter holidays, I even dare rate it as THE unmissable opportunity of a lifetime. Providing you have the chance to stop off in England by the end of June, would you like to have a Glastonbury experience?

I have here attached the link if you want to know more about this awesome festival!
http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

Good Neighbours

As we're dealing with the topic neighbours I thought it'd be a good idea to tell an anecdote related to such topic - it's not a real anecdote though :P!

" Because you never know the day when you might need your neighbours' help - fingers crossed you never do,you should always be kind and helpful to them " , my mom used to say. And that day came.

I was home alone for the whole weekend while my parents were away, gallivanting around Europe for their wedding anniversary, when the most terrible incident happened to me.It was early in the evening when I had just started to get ready myself to hang out with my mates for a couple of beers. I took my time - slowly picked out what I was going to wear, had my hair done and cooked some dinner. Only after glancing at my watch did I realise I was going to be awfully late. Frantically, I put on some make up, took my purse, locked the door and dashed to the lift. Funnily enough, it wasn't working so I decided to take the stairs. As I was hurrying my way down them, I couldn't help stumbling on those bloody high heels which eventually led me to fall- and break my left leg!I was shaking with fear as I saw the gush of blood coming out of my veins . Desperate as I was, the only thing that crossed my mind was calling my neighbour Barbara to come to my aid. I picked up the phone and punched in her number. She immediately called the ambulance and came where I was lying to comfort me till the doctors came. Without giving it a second thought, Barbara accompanied me to the hospital and stayed there with me until the doctor made sure I was fine and able to return home. I will never forget what she did for me, and ever since then I started giving my mother's words weight in gold .

I reckon that empathising with others, being willing to help them, even though that might imply devoting some of your time, makes you a good neighbour,and above all an excellent person, and Barbara definitely was one.