15:21 | Author: Daniel
L.A. Noire due in fall for PS3 and 360
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Google working on IPad rival
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Google Android partner HTC is suing Apple
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Game consoles- all things to all men?
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Iphone gambling apps for kids should be banned
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Fake security software is enemy N. 1
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Hate speech flying like bullets in online games
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Girls play games too explains pro gamer Jinx
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Murdoch to remove content from Google in months
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Google clears digital library hurdle
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The gadget inspectors investigate the latest gadgets
Watch the vid here

Can Windows 7 erase the bad memories of Windows vista?
Watch the video here
Gadget inspectors check out new Beatles' Rock band video game
Watch the vid here
Apple's new operating system
Watch the vid here
New HTC Magic with Google android
Watch the vid here
Dealing with the downturn
Watch the vid here


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12:03 | Author: Daniel

Family Guy

Always pay back what you owe buddy

Undecided voters


The Big Bang Theory

Watch the vid and do the activity below


Interview with Mark McGrath: Sprays in the city
Watch the interview with Sugar Ray's frontman and do the exercise below

1. What’s going on with Sugar Ray?
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What did they do a song for?
_____________________________________________________________________

3. Where are they going to this summer?
_____________________________________________________________________

4. What is the interviewer looking forward to?
_____________________________________________________________________

5. What is this show Sprays in the city? Where is it shown?
_____________________________________________________________________

6. Is the show for children?
_____________________________________________________________________

7. What kind of series is it? What can you do on the web unlike the Sopranos?

_____________________________________________________________________

8. What can you get a chance to win?
_____________________________________________________________________

9.What is the future for Mark McGrath?
____________________________________________________________________

Lost
Watch this video and complete the gaps below


Sara
What?
Is ___________ him?
What __________does it make?
It just does.
It’s not ___________ change anything.
Look I ____________ know. I need to _________ who he is.
It doesn’t _________ who he is. It just ___________who you are not. Jack your ____________he called me to ___________ you he was so drunk I could hardly understand him…___________ at the bright side now you have ____________to fix.
Jack …Jack what ___________ you like to find out?
Is she _____________?
Yes Jack she is very______________

Lost


In this episode we hear Sarah say "he just got here"
Lost is an American tv series and there are typical time phrases used with the present perfect tense in BrE but often used with the past simple tense in AmE.
To learn more about these two tenses click here

Seinfeld


1. What does the man say about Kramer's work?
____________________________________________
2. What does the man say about the reports Kramer's handed in?
_____________________________________________
3. What does the man finally tell Kramer?
_____________________________________________

Coupling

Coupling is a British television sitcom written by Steven Moffat that aired on BBC2 from May 2000 to 2004. Produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, the show centres on the dating and sexual adventures and mishaps of six friends in their thirties, often depicting the three women and the three men each talking amongst themselves about the same events, but in entirely different terms. An American adaptation of the sitcom was briefly produced in 2003.The show debuted to unimpressive ratings, but its popularity soon increased and by the end of the third series the show had achieved decent ratings in the UK. The series began airing on PBS stations and on BBC America in the United States in late 2002 and quickly gained a devoted fanbase there as well. The show is syndicated around the world.

Conception

Moffat had used the breakdown of his first marriage as inspiration for his 1990s sitcom Joking Apart. Retaining this semi-autobiographical trend, Coupling was based on him meeting his wife, Sue Vertue, and on the issues that arise in new relationships. The couple formed the basis for the main characters Steve and Susan. The four other characters are prior relationships and the best friends of Steve and Susan; they represent the extremes of confidence and paranoia between the sexes when it comes to relationships. The two main characters are left to negotiate their own relationship as illuminated by these extremes.The series has made use of techniques that are unconventional in sitcoms, such as split screen and non-linear narratives. The style of the programme is sometimes farce, but by using non-linear narratives it is farce in a way not achievable on the stage.
The sitcom has often been criticised as being a 'British version of
Friends.' However, in interviews Steven Moffat has cited Seinfeld as being more of an inspiration and this can be seen in some aspects of unusual plotting and character interaction.
Four series of Coupling were produced for the BBC. The programme was thought to have ended when the American network
NBC began work on an American adaptation, which NBC was reportedly hoping to position as a replacement for Friends. Unlike most American adaptations, this show was intended to be a word-for-word duplicate of the British version, except that it was shortened to allow for the shorter running time of North American 'half hour' shows. The programme was attacked in the press long before the first episode aired, because it was more sexually explicit than typical American television.The US version was cancelled after airing just four episodes. It starred Rena Sofer and Sonya Walger, among others. Gina Bellman, who plays Jane in the British series, made a cameo appearance in the first episode of the American adaptation of Coupling.
In 2004, the fourth series started screening on BBC Three, and on BBC2 a few months later. Richard Coyle (who played Jeff) did not appear in the fourth series, and was replaced by Richard Mylan as a new character called Oliver. Richard Coyle did not want to continue in the role so he quit.[3] The BBC approached Moffat about writing a fifth series, but other commitments made it impossible to gather the cast. Moffat moved on to write acclaimed episodes for the revived science fiction series Doctor Who. Many fans of the series were angered that Jeff was no longer in the fourth series, and Richard Mylan has said in interview that it took a long time for people to accept his character.[4]

Watch the vid and do the activity below

1. What has Steve tried to do before?Has he been successful?Why not?

2. What does Jane say Steve wants to do?

3. Does she accept what Steve wants to do?

4. What does Steve say he's doing with her?

5. Then Steve gets mad and says You are ...................

6. What does Steve want Jane to do? Does she do what she is told?

7. What does she say they can do? What does she suggest?

8. What does Steve say he'll do if they do that?

If we ____________________________________________

Aardman Studios

Aardman Animations, Ltd., also known as Aardman Studios, is an Academy Award winning British animation studio based in Bristol, United Kingdom. Aardman is famous for its claymation/stop-motion animation productions, particularly plasticine duo Wallace & Gromit. ardman was founded in 1976 as a low-budget project by Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who wanted to realize their dream of producing an animated motion picture. Their first big break was providing animated sequences for the children's art series, Vision On, for which they created Morph, a simple clay character. Around the same time Lord and Sproxton made their first foray into adult animation with the shorts Down and Out and Confessions of a Foyer Girl, entries in the BBC's Animated Conversations series using used real-life conversations as soundtracks. However, these two shorts were not actual Aardman productions.Later Aardman produced a number of shorts for Channel 4 including the Conversation Pieces series. These five shorts worked in the same area as the Animated Conversations pieces, but were more sophisticated. Lord and Sproxton began hiring more animators at this point; three of the newcomers made their directorial debut at Aardman with the Lip Synch series. Of the five Lip Synch shorts two were directed by Peter Lord, one by Barry Purves, one by Richard Goleszowski and one by Nick Park.

Park's short, Creature Comforts, was the first Aardman production to win an Oscar. Park also developed the world-famous clay modelled shorts featuring the adventures of Wallace & Gromit, a comical pair of buddies: Wallace being a naive English green-knitted-tank-top-wearing inventor, and Gromit his best pal, the intelligent but silent dog. The pair undertake many adventures such as A Grand Day Out (1989), The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995), the latter two winning academy awards. In 2000 Aardman Studios produced their first feature film,Chicken Run, an award-winning worldwide box-office hit.

Following the success of Chicken Run, DreamWorks and Aardman signed a 3-picture deal, the first being seeing the return of Wallace and Gromit after a ten year absence in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. The film took the next Academy award for full-length animated film.

From 2006-2007, the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Tokyo, Japan, had an exhibit featuring the works of Aardman Studios. Sproxton and Lord visited the exhibit in May 2006 and met with Hayao Miyazaki during the visit.[1] Miyazaki has long been a fan of the Aardman Animation works.[1]

On October 3, 2006, The New York Times reported that due to creative differences Dreamworks Animation and Aardman would not be extending their contract. According to Aardman spokesman Arthur Sheriff, "The business model of DreamWorks no longer suits Aardman and vice versa. But the split couldn't have been more amicable."

In April 2007 Aardman signed a three-year deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. Aardman co-founder Peter Lord remarked "We are all very excited by the potential and have a number of projects we are keen to bring to fruition with this new relationship."

While Aardman is best known for stop motion, the studio has also dabbled in CGI with productions such as Owzat, Al Dante, Planet Sketch and Flushed Away.

Aardman Features is a feature film division of Aardman Animations.

Aardman is also known to provide generous resources and training to young animators by providing awards at various animation festivals. For example, The Aardman Award at the UK's Animex Festival in Teesside (held in February,) provides world class story consultation to a promising young animator, for their next film.

Aardman Also Signed a deal with Hit Entertainment

Watch this vid from Creature Comforts where the animals give their views on the war in Iraq and do the exercise below.
  1. What does the spider say? What does she think?
  2. The pig says they talked about bombing the Alqaeda infrastructure in Afghanistan but there were no good targets so What did he suggest? Write his exact words.
  3. What does the Fox say?
  4. What is it Iraqi people will not tolerate?
  5. What did the Iraqi people do when they voted?

Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie was born in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK in 1968. After watching Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as a child, Guy realized that what he wanted to do was to make films. He never attended film school, saying that the work of film school graduates was boring and unwatchable. At 15 years old, he dropped out of school. In 1995, Ritchie got a job as a runner and this proved to be the start of his film career. He quickly progressed and was directing music promos for bands and commercials by 1995. The profits that he made from directing these promos was invested into writing and making the film, The Hard Case (1995), which is a twenty minute short film that is also the prequel to his debut feature Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Sting's wife, Trudie Styler, saw The Hard Case (1995) and invested into "Lock, Stock..." (2000), which was written and directed by Guy. Once "Lock, Stock..." (2000) was completed, the hard task of getting it distributed then came about with ten British distributors all turning it down before the film eventually got the attention of Tom Cruise. It was distributed by a North American Distributor, Columbia Tristar. The film was made on a budget of £1.6 million and went on to become the third highest grossing British film of all time. "Lock, Stock..." (2000) was followed up by Snatch. (2000), this time with a bigger budget and a few more familiar faces such as Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro and with a couple of stars returning from "Lock, Stock..." (2000) such as Jason Statham, Vinnie Jones and Jason Flemyng. It was also a success, taking a record £3 million on its first weekend. Guy married Madonna in December of 2000 shortly after their son, Rocco, was born. After Snatch. (2000), Ritchie's next film was another short called Star (2001/I) , which was for BMW cars. This featured his wife Madonna. Swept Away (2002) was another collaboration with his wife for a remake of the 1974 Lina Wertmüller film of the same name. Swept Away (2002) was not received very well by fans and critics alike when released in America and was released direct to video in Guy's home country of the UK. He has already written his next film, Revolver (2005/I), slated for a 2005 release.
This is a bit of the movie Snatch by Guy Ritchie. Watch the vid and do the exercise below.

He's bad to the bone, ain't you, Tyrone?

Of course I am.

Tyrone__________________drive for us. He's done a rally driving _____________.

Of course I have.

I ___________ want that dog dribbling on my ___________.

Your seats?

Tyrone, this is a ____________ car, mate.

While I'm at the ___________, it's my ____________...

...so stop that dog dribbling on my seats. All right?

Steady on the brakes.

I __________ you said he could _________, Sol.

_________ worry about me. Just worry about that _______ on my seats.

All right?

Hey

What?

You _________ he was a getaway driver. What the ----can he ______ away from?

Don't worry about Tyrone. He can _________ when he has to.

Just Worry about ___________ us a gun yeah

What's that?

This is a _________, Sol.

It's a -----anti-aircraft _______, Vincent.

- I want to raise some pulses, don't I? - You'll raise hell, never mind pulses.

That does not _________ like a bookies.

Why'd we stop here? What's the matter with that _______ over there?

It's too __________.

Too ________?

You could land a jumbo---------_______ in there.

________ him alone. He's a __________. Ain't you, Tyrone?

Of course I am.

A natural -------_________. Tyrone, what've you done?

Yeah, Tyrone, what _______ you done?

Look, you hassle me, you see what _________.

It's all right. No, don't move it now.

People'll see the damage. Why'd you do that?

I ________see it there

It's a four-ton truck. It's not like it's a __________ of ----- peanuts.

It was at a funny _________.

It's ________ you, Tyrone.

Whenever you _________, things come from __________ you.

________ that dog as well.

- Get that dog off him. - Get it off me.

Tim Burton

Tim Burton directed a number of short movies early in his career. However, aside from his two most famous works for Disney and the TV episodes he directed, they have been mostly unseen, both by the general public and his fans. For that reason it’s hard to get a complete picture of Burton’s early career, aside from the second-hand reports available in various biographies of the director.
Vincent (1982) was Burton’s first film that actually saw a release.This was a stop-motion animated movie shot in beautiful black and white, it was based on a poem Burton had written himself. The short film tells the sad tale of Vincent Malloy, a suburbanite boy who wants to be just like his idol, Vincent Price. It was a deeply personal film for the young Burton, and it marked his first teaming with two collaborators who would have a great impact on his oeuvre.The narration was provided by Vincent Price. Price had been Burton’s idol since childhood, and having him contribute his memorable voice to the film was an undoubted thrill for the young director. The classic horror star’s role also reinforced the theme of the film, which is that fantasies about monsters and mad scientists can become more important to kids than their own mundane lives. As Burton later said, “It was probably one of the most shaping experiences of my life.”

Now watch the vid and complete the poem he himself wrote for the film here





Vincent Malloy is ____________ years old
He’s always _____________ and does what he’s _________
For a _________ his age, he’s considerate and _________
But he __________ to be just like Vincent __________

He doesn’t mind _____________ with his sister, dog and _________
Though he’d rather share a ________ with spiders and _________
There he could ___________ on the horrors he’s ____________
And wander dark hallways, _____________ and tormented

Vincent is _________ when his aunt _________ to see him
But _________ dipping her in wax for his wax _____________

He likes to ____________ on his dog Abercrombie
In the hopes of creating a ___________ zombie
So he and his horrible zombie ________
Could go ____________ for victims in the London ________

His __________, though, aren’t only of ghoulish _________
He _____ to paint and read to pass some of the _________
________ other kids read ________ like Go, Jane, Go!
Vincent’s ___________ author is Edgar Allen _________

One ________, while reading a gruesome ________
He read a __________ that made him turn _________

Such _________ news he could not _________
For his ___________ wife had been buried _________!
He dug out her grave to ________ sure she was _________
Unaware that her _______ was his mother’s flower ________

His mother ________ Vincent off to his ______________
He ________ he’d been banished to the tower of doom
Where he was _________to spend the rest of his _______
Alone with the ________ of his beautiful wife

While _______ and insane encased in his tomb
Vincent’s __________ burst suddenly into the _________
She ________: “If you ________ to, you can go out and _______
It’s sunny ________, and a beautiful _________”

Vincent tried to _____, but he just couldn’t __________
The years of __________ had made him quite ___________
So he _________ out some paper and scrawled with a ___________:
“I am possessed by this __________, and can never leave it ___________”
His _________ said: “You’re not possessed, and you’re not almost __________
These ___________ that you play are all in your ___________
You’re not Vincent Price, you’re Vincent Malloy
You’re not tormented or insane, you’re just a young _________
You’re _______ years old and you are my _________
I want ______ to get outside and have some real ___________.

”Her anger now __________, she walked out through the _______
And while Vincent backed slowly against the _______
The room started to swell, to shiver and creak
His horrid insanity had reached its peak

He saw Abercrombie, his zombie _________
And heard his __________ call from beyond the __________
She _________ from her coffin and made ghoulish demands
While, through cracking walls, reached skeleton _________

Every _________ in his life that had crept through his ___________
Swept his _________ laughter to terrified screams!
To ____________ the madness, he reached for the ____________
But fell limp and lifeless down on the __________

His ________ was soft and very _________
As he quoted The Raven from Edgar Allen Poe:

“and my soul from out that shadow
that lies floating on the floor
shall be lifted?
Nevermore…”

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM



QUESTIONS:

  1. The man thinks Teddy Roosevelt was the fourth American president, but he was actually:
    the 26th
    the 6th
    the 20th
  2. What job is the man interviewing for?:
    Manager
    Night guard
    Janitor
  3. What is the most important thing he has to remember?:
    Not to let anyone in
    Not to let anyone out
    Not to let anyone in or out
  4. What happens at the museum at night?:
    some things come to life
    everything comes to life
    the man sleeps

ANGER MANAGEMENT

Watch the theatrical trailer and do the activity below


1. What is the cruising altitude?

22,000 feet.

32,000 feet.

12,000 feet.

2. What does the guy on the plane want?

a drink.

a towel.

a headset.

3. What do the people want him to do?

calm down.

Sit down.

Lie down.

4. What does he say?

the doctor should be moving in with him.

he doesn’t think the doctor should move in with him.

He should take some medicine.

5. What will happen if he doesn’t follow the rules of the program?

he will have to undergo therapy for another 2 years.

he will be sent to prison for one year.

he will be punished with community service.

The Matrix



1. Where is the answer to Neo’s question?

a. somewhere there.
b.
out there.
c.
in here.

2. What is the Matrix?

a.it is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth
b.the real world.

c.the unreal world.

3. What are human beings?

a.lovely creatures.
b.intelligent beings.

c.a disease.

4. What does Neo need?

a.pen and paper.
b.a plane.

c.lots of guns.

5. No one can be told what the Matrix is, so what do you have to do?

a.watch a documentary.
b.go to a search engine and find out what it is.

c.see it for yourself.

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5:12 | Author: Daniel

These idioms and phrases are intended to help you improve your vocabulary a little bit and to know exactly why this is said.Notice that some idioms are polite, some others are common and others are vulgar or at times rude.

[P]
for Polite, acceptable in the most decrete and well educated circles and public speaking.
[C] for Common, acceptable among average folk, friends, mixed company (male & female), and speaking to closed groups
[V] for Vulgar, might be considered unrefined, crude, or even inflamitory. NOT for public speaking. NOT for mixed company.

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth (P) 22/2
Do not be critical of a gift.
  • Horses have gum lines that recede with age. Hence older horses have longer teeth than young horses.To "look a horse in the mouth" is to examine the horse's mouth closely to determine its age (and therefore its usefulness and/or worth). To immediately judge a gift based on its worth or usefulness rather than the "thought" behind it considered rude, and ungrateful (it is a gift after all, and didn't cost the receiver anything).
e.g. Okay, so the '72 Gremlin grandma gave you is not your idea of a babe magnet, but it was free - so don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Drop a dime (C)-1/2
Make a phone call
  • This is a good phrase to discuss with anyone born after 1970. Pay phones cost 35, 50, or even 75 cents today, but they really did cost 10 cents at one time. The dime was dropped into the slot of the pay phone.

e.g.Don't be such a stranger. Drop a dime some time.

CLEAR AS A BELL (P)-26/1
Clearly understood.
  • Bells such as the type used in churches are large and loud. Their sound can be heard from a great distance. Bells sound a single, clear note so their sound is distinctive and not easily confused.

e.g. You don't have to repeat yourself. Your message is clear as a bell.

BRAND SPANKING NEW (P)
New and unused.
  • Doctors have traditionally spanked babies immediately after delivery to start them crying, and breathing.
e.g. What you really need is a brand spanking new Porsche turbo.

BLOWING SMOKE (P)
To be boasting without being able to back it up, talking about action without intent to follow through.
  • Magicians often use smoke in their performance to obscure your view and conceal a bit of trickery.A person who is "blowing smoke" is tricking you and attempting to cover it up.
e.g.Do you really want to buy this car or are you just blowing smoke?



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