Angela's fantastic Speech

Dear friends:
We gather here today to celebrate a very special moment. And as it is very special indeed I have decided to put a couple of words together into a humble speech which I entitled “The Adorable Greatness of Smithing”.
To Smith or not to Smith? That, my friends , is the question. Not only are we here to launch “ The Smith Blog”, but also to set up a real quest: we want to encourage our fellowmen to devote their hearts to the pursuit of greatness. For Smithness, my dear ones, is not only a state of mind, not simply a lifestyle, as it is the quality inherent to those whose daily mission is none other than to spread joy and lightness all over a sadenned world.
Smithness is such a complex concept it may mean whatever you take it to be. Its meaning is so broad you can use it as a noun: “ What the world really needs is Smithness!” Or an adjective: “You look so Smith tonight!..”But above all it can be used as a verb and it is with this simple word I want to conclude my tribute to the creators of this great space and tool, and my summoning to you all: “Let´s all smith up together!”
Thank you very much!

I fell in love with a robot

Hello, Smithians!

This afternoon I went to Cinemark at Plaza Shopping to see the new Pixar movie, WALL-E .

The tale of the dreamy robot and his friend Eve during the year 2700 will surely get to you.

A great story told not with fancy words or witty dialogues but with the strenght of friendship and the courage to start anew.

Highly recommended.

Liv McAvoy

good old times

Hi guys,

A glimpse of vintage Michael Jackson and Roberta Flack singing 'When we grow up'. This music video was on a TV programme in the early 70's. You may call it soppy, flashy, psychedelic etc. I simply love it.

I still haven't managed to add the video HERE. Help me, if you can, I'm feeling down. Click http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=wSNwxeY09bE to watch the video.

Cheers,
Mônica

Plus 3 interviews Plus 3

The class we`ve interviewed said that most of the actions they could do, unfortunately are forgotten in their busy style of life. Nobody use recycled paper and nobidy recycle paper too. Almost everyone don`t use energy-saving light bulbs, but almost everyone tur off lights when they leave the room. Most of them prefer using cars, and most of them spend an avarage of 35minutews at shower. Only a few people select their trash but jhalf of the class consider themselves GREEN.

festa junina

Hi everybody,

Our Junina barn dance, without the dance, but with lots of typical food will take place next Monday, June 23. See you all there/here!

Songs

Guys,

How about a little game? Post as many songs as you can...
To begin with, what about songs with the word YOU???

For instance: No more I love you's - Annie Lennox; She loves you - Beatles.

Any other suggestions???

p.s: I tried to add a picture from google images and I couldn't. Why? Help!!!!

The kite runner

Hi,

Just dropping a line to tell you I've seen The kite runner, a touching and sensitive film with human(e) and tangible characters.

Here is a site I think might interest you - www.rottentomatoes.com - reviews of almost every film you can think of, mainstream or not. Click on the title above and it will take you to a review written by Pablo Villaça, the only Brazilian critic in rotten tomatoes.

Cheers,
Mônica

Wikigroaning

Wikipedia has a great deal of importance for some people. The thing is, when I mention "some people", I'm talking about a very specific demographic. This is not about lurkers like me, who, at most, edit some grammar mistakes and the like. I'm talking about those guys who really undertake the massive task of writing its articles. And logically, those guys, who have the time and willingness to write extensive pieces of information for free, would like to handle stuff they're interested in, don't you think? That's the spirit behind Wikigroaning. Let me tell you now: I'm not the creator of it, far from it (Johnny "DocEvil" Titanium from SomethingAwful in this article ).

Now, what is Wikigroaning?
It is comparing two articles of similar name and/or content, one of which is about something that should be useful for any person, and another that only matters to a group of fans. To general surprise, the fan-oriented article (about pop culture, TV sereis, cartoons and the like) is always longer than the "serious" one. Check some examples out:

Modern Warfare
Lightsaber Combat

Friendship
Friends

Outer space
Star Wars

Bat
Batman

Dwarfism
Dwarf (Middle Earth)

Trail of Tears
Tears for Fears

Ocean
Aquaman

St. Francis Xavier
Professor X

Dough
D'oh

John Locke
John Locke (Lost)

Real life
Second Life

Raphael (archangel)
Raphael (ninja turtle)

Reality
The Matrix

Dating
Internet dating

Henry VIII (play)
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Japanese mythology
Japanese toilet

Nirvana
Nirvana (band)

Aristotle
Oprah Winfrey

List of animal names
List of Pokemon

Latin
Klingon language

List of people who have disappeared
Characters of Lost

Family (biology)
Family Guy

Wall Street crash of 1929
Video game crash of 1983

Category:American philosphers
List of big-bust models and performers

Amazing how people give importance to the weirdest things...

Love is in the air !!!

Guys ! Please, you have (should, ought to and other modals ) vote ! Take a look at the question : What could be a good Valentine´s Smith gift ? Please, I do need to know what I am gonna get ok ?

Love,
Smith

Pictures

Hey, "yous"...

Just to say that the launch of the blog was a special event and Angie's words... Wow, if one day I need to make a speech in English I know who I'm gonna call (not 'Ghostbusters'!). :)
By the way, Evie Smith, when are the pics gonna be posted here??? As the 'stylist' of the blog, I'm looking forward to seeing our beautiful, fashionable staff on the web...

See y'all,
Mari.

le book

Hi everybody!

What do you think? Just click on le book above.


Mônica

I beg your pardon !

Just to remind you !

This is a free wonderland ! So, grammar mistakes are allowed since we are all Smith poets. Even the Beatles have said : I think she´s lost your love and she don´t know what to say ...

I´ve already found my own grammatical innovations and I did like it !!!

When I first saw this masterpiece I almost had to say : " Parla"

Good morning to all Smithers !!!

Well, it is done ! And it has already become a huge success ! For this reason, I´d like to thank you all for the commitment with the project. Undoubtedly, we are a great team of smithers but once again, I should remind you of our next steps to be followed :

1 - As our colleague Ann Blue told us and I do agree with that ! - this space should be great fun ( it is indeed ) and a real source of a rewarding learning experience. So, I believe we can achieve multiple goals in here. For instance, why not post our favourite Youtube links ? Can you do that ? If you don´t , please ask our Editor ( Daniel ) to lend you a helping hand.

2 - I got another idea ( please feel free to debate them ok ? ) We are all moderators and our task is to encourage ( instigate or even force ....ahahha) our workmates ( from our branch only ! ) to acess the blog. Let´s spread the idea. As we are all contributors and also moderators, everyone is allowed to invite other people. The one who invites more people will get a Smithean surprise, ok ? Maybe my autograph.... let´s see what I can do .

3 - Keep posting !!! By the way, I loved Smith Facts session ! Well done, Saucer !

Smith in the dictionary

Hey, everyone! I've just started smithing and I'm really proud of taking part in this blog. Well, we've all been talking about how wonderful it is to be a smither (or a smithian), how long we've been smithing, and so on. The greatest news is that I found some definitions of the word "smith". Take a look at some hilarious comments of what a "smith"or "to smith" can be, according to some people (e.g. numbers 3 and 6). If you click on the title, it'll lead you to the source of these cool definitions. If the link doesn't work, try the following: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=smith . Have fun!

See you later, alligator!

Marconi (Vítor Marconi)
Bond (James Bond)

"MELÔ DO BOMBEIRO" - For those who still don't know!!!

Can you remember when you didn't speak any English and the internet didn't exist? Do you remember how hard it was to have access to Lyrics? I reckon the first lyrics I had contact with were the ones in the song NOTHING COMPARES TO YOU by a girl whose name I can't spell. I can just figure out her bald hair...
This song is a perfect illustration of what we used to do before getting into this fantastic world of "LANGUAGE ACQUISITION".

THOSE ARE THE REAL ONES

I SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER

And I should have known better
to lie with one as beautiful as you.
Yeah I should have known better
to take a chance on ever losing you,
But I thought you'd understand.
Can you forgive me?


I - saw you walking by the other day
I know that you saw me, you turned away and I was lost.
You see - I've never loved no-one as much as you,
I've fooled around but tell me now just who is hurting who?

{chorus}
I should have known better (CHAMA O BOMBEIRO)
I should have known better (CHAMA O BOMBEIRO)

Its true, I took our love for granted all along
and trying to explain where I went wrong I just dont know.
I cry - but tears dont seem to help me carry on,
and now there is no chance you'll come back home,
got too much pride

{chorus}
I love you
I love you
La la la I love you la la la yeah

And I should have known better
to lie with one as beautiful as you....

Thank God it´s Monday !!!

First Group Discussion

Welcome to the first Smith Online Discussion. Our topic for this week will be : What are the expressions and words mostly used by English teachers ? Why do we do that ?

Let me give you some examples :

1 - Language learning and acquisition
2 - Food for thought
3 - So far so good
4 - Repeat please
5 - Just say it
6 - This is it !
7 - First of all
8 - How was the weekend ? ( students just answer : " Normal " !???)
9 - Now, I am going to ...
10 - Let´s play a game
11 - Talk to your partner...

What else guys ?

Let´s rock it !!!

Hi Guys !!!

I am very proud of our territory and I do think we should keep it working lively and effectively . How would we do that ? First, we should invite all our Smithean Friends to join us. Secondly, let´s keep posting and start sharing our views concerning certain polemic issues which are part of our every day life. Finally, let´s keep having fun together both in a real or virtual environment !!!

Don´t forget our launching !!! It´s coming soon ...
( By the way, I´ve got to talk to the Board of our blog )

Smith´s Territory Board

Smith - Divine inspiration and Marketing Director
Leandro - Manager
Saucer - Public Relations Director
Daniel - Dear Mr. Editor
Angela - Content Consultant


There are other consultants but we are still defining their positions.
By the way, if you want to take part in our Board, please send us your CV. Thanks

Hi...

Hi, guys!!! It's really good to be here... Posting is something new to me, so you're gonna have to be patient, ok???
Anyway, these are some tips I copied from 'oglobo.com' and I thought they could interest you... (Cultura Express, Conversation, Master, ...)
By the way, is talking about work forbidden here??? Sorry :)

Entrevista de emprego em outro idioma não é bicho de sete cabeças
Ione Luques - O Globo Online

RIO - Muitas etapas são cumpridas antes da notícia tão esperada da conquista de um emprego. Uma das que traz mais apreensão entre os candidatos a uma vaga é, certamente, a entrevista. Já não bastasse o nervosismo que desperta normalmente, a ansiedade aumenta quando esta terá que ser feita em outro idioma, como em inglês, por exemplo, o que se torna cada vez mais comum em um mundo globalizado.

"Apesar da onda do mandarim, o idioma da globalização é o inglês"

Nada de pânico! Profissionais de escolas de idiomas garantem que não é preciso ter experiência internacional ou ter passado dez anos estudando inglês, espanhol ou qualquer outra língua para se sair bem em uma entrevista deste tipo. O fundamental é o candidato conhecer o vocabulário da área onde atua ou pretende atuar e estar preparado para responder questões relativas à sua vida pessoal e profissional, já que as mesmas perguntas que seriam feitas em português serão feitas em outro idioma.

(...)

"Treinar o idioma é obrigatório"

(...)

Os profissionais ouvidos pelo Globo Online enfatizam que, para o profissional contemporâneo, com ambições de ascensão na carreira, o inglês já não é mais um diferencial, mas sim um pré-requisito, uma necessidade primordial. Embora outras línguas venham ganhando espaço, o inglês continua sendo o mais utilizado no mundo corporativo.

(...)

Como agir

Na hora da entrevista, todos os entrevistados foram unânimes: o principal é manter a calma e não mentir, tentar enganar o entrevistador.

(...)

- Não existe milagre. Não adianta ir para uma entrevista sem ter conhecimento suficiente do idioma e tentar enrolar. Isso acaba prejudicando a imagem do candidato, inclusive para outras oportunidades que a empresa possa oferecer.

(...)

O melhor caminho é procurar um curso para realmente ter o conhecimento e desenvoltura necessários para dar segurança ao candidato. Além disso, é importante manter-se em constante contato com o idioma, através de leitura de jornais, revistas, sites e chats.