The Diary Of John

Thursday, October 14, 2004

Tired..

Man im getting tired now, i think its because its so muggy right now. A good rain storm would be real good about now. Hopefully it'll rain before the end of the night and then tomorrow it will be a little cooler.

I spent some time watching comedy clips with my students that they downloaded from the internet. There was some nice stuff from Jim Carey that was really funny :-) I'll get the cd copied so i can pass it with some of my other groups, i think they will get a real kick out of it. Theres one clip with a guy farting in bed that had everyone here crying with laughter hehehe. I have to try to get access at the other school to the net to download stuff as they have a burner there and will record just about anything i want.

I picked up a dvd to relax to later on, i hope its a good film. Funny thing is i cant remember the name of the dvd now hahaha!! Talk about crazy, i must really be starting to feel all of my years i guess. I was going to get that comedy with Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller, but i read somewhere the other day that it wasnt a good film :-( I will just have to go to the movies again i guess, i am sure there will be some film that we havent seen playing this Sunday.

I have to give some extra classes tomorrow, its good though as i have to be at the school anyway so itll make the time just pass by alot quicker. Plus i dont have to go to Formosa as i am still resting my back from pulling something the other day. I hope they have some easy students for me to give class to though as its getting near the end of the week and i am dying just to sit down and relax with a 2lt coffee or Coca Cola lol.

Well i guess my students will be here soon so i'll go overdose on coffee and get ready to start..

posted at 5:34 PM by john |

Aunt..

I dont mean someones aunt but Agony Aunt, the latest project i gave to some of my students. Its basically the same as the ones we read in the newspaper with people writing in with problems and someone writing back with some sort of advice. I gave my students some short letters and asked them to read and write for me a small paragraph / composition stating what advice they would give to the writer of the letter. I am not really interested too much in spelling mistakes etc but in their ideas and how they use certain grammar to express obligation and advice etc. I think it'll be alot of fun to see what advice they give when they read out their answers in class come monday morning :-)

I see Google have created a desktop search program for computers, nice idea but we cant use it here as we dont have service pack 3 installed for Windows 2000. I must get them to come and do something with the computers here, they installed this useless program with no security updates and now we have no way to even install the service packs. Plus i'd like to try out this new google desktop search program too. Maybe They need to get some better computers though as this one is slow as anything since they installed Win2000 :-(

posted at 1:11 PM by john |

Behind..

Funny thing about Brasil is that here everything seems to be behind the times compared to everywhere else in the world. Looking though the newspaper today i read a couple of things that made me laugh out loud as we had dealt with these problems in the Uk years ago yet here they have just recognized the problems.

The first one, Pitbulls. In the UK you cant even breed these without a licence and they have to be registered and loads of other stuff too after a spate of these dogs attacking people and children. Here in Brasil you see children taking these types of dogs and also mastiffs etc for a walk in the street, well really the dog takes the kids for a walk. how can a small child control an animal that could easily drag me along the street? In the paper it shows two women who were attacked by a pitbull but lets face it they only have themselves to blame. After all these types of dogs arent family pets, they arent really good for anything apart from guard dogs in places where people should need to go anywhere near them. I cant belive that people here in Brasil dont know that these dogs are dangerous, i think they just like to look good by having one of these types of dogs to walk down the street and pose with. All i can say is, dont waste your sympathy on these people once they get chewed up.

The second thing, Cell phones and cell phone antennas. Yep those big towers that are all over the place. I remember about 6yrs ago there being a big fuss about the radiation etc from both of these things and health guidelines etc issued and surely this must have been all over the internet so other people would have read all about it. Here in the newspapers and on the TV they have just started talking about dangers of cell phone towers and cell phones etc. Cmon guys, you all knew about this here in Brasil, just that the cell companies wanted you all buying as many cell phones as you could carry so they could increase their profits. Of course everyone uses one, i have one myself but i remember the advice they gave to people in the UK about using cell phones and always follow it. Alot of the time i use just for sms and alot of the time i even use their companies websites to send sms messages for free so i dont even have to use my cell phone. Wake up people!! Comn lets play catch up real quick here so that problems that are the same here as in other countries can be dealt with sooner and not when its too late.

Ever heard of a group called Hoobastank? Here i never heard of them before until a couple of days ago when i found out they are part of some CCAA promotion. To be honest i visited their website and listened to their music and i dont remember hearing it here. I think CCAA should have stuck with The Black eyed Peas as these guys just sound like Linkin Park. I will get onto Kazaa and see how many of their songs can be downloaded and just choose the best ones to burn to a cd (Flips the finger at RIAA).

Okay time to go pay some bills here hehehe..

posted at 7:59 AM by john |

Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Magazine..

I have just about got the basics of the magazine idea i wanna try out with my students. I think it'll be alot of fun once we get it going. I made some very basic rules that we will use just to give some guidelines and then i want to try not to be so involved apart from supplying a bit of help when they ask me. Its not all that important to me whether the grammar is 100% correct or if every word is spelled correctly, the main thing is to have a bit of fun writing and developing texts themselves. I think it will be good as there can be a longer length of time for them to get everything all ready and theni'll print it off and leave a couple of copies laying around the school just to see what the other students think when they read it. I have already got a basic Questionaire ready for the students to fill in afterwards so i can find out what they thought about the project after they have completed it. I'm curious to see what they will put on the questionaires, i think that They will hopefully have good things to say although i am curious to read about any things they found difficult too.

posted at 5:41 PM by john |

Angry Jackson says Eminem video demeaning

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pop star Michael Jackson, angry over a "demeaning and insensitive" new Eminem music video that makes light of the child molestation charges against him, has asked that networks pull it off the air.

Eminem's "Just Lose It" video shows the rapper, dressed as Jackson, sitting on the edge of a bed as young boys bounce behind him. At another point his nose falls off, a reference to rumours that Jackson has had extensive plastic surgery.

The video has already been pulled off the BET cable television network at the request of the self-proclaimed "King of Pop," who became one of the best-selling recording artists of all time in part thanks to his elaborate and pioneering music videos.

"I'm very angry at Eminem's depiction of me in this video. I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive," Jackson said in a radio interview in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to a transcript provided by his spokeswoman.

"I've admired Eminem as (an) artist and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large," he said. "It is my hope that the other networks will take BET's lead and pull it."

A publicist for Eminem released a brief statement saying "We are sorry" BET chose to take the video off the air. He declined further comment.

Jackson, 46, faces trial in January on a 10-count indictment that charges him with child molestation and conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty.

BET is owned by Viacom.

Jackson Set To Sue Eminem Over Video

Michael Jackson is poised to sue Eminem over the rapper's new video which depicts the superstar playing with young children, according to reports. The video for Eminem's new single Just Lose It also pokes fun at Jacko's plastic surgery and an incident when his hair caught fire filming a commercial 20 years ago.

Eminem appears made up as Jackson in the Thriller star's trademark red leather jacket and trousers.

In one scene his nose falls off, and Eminem raps: "Come here little kiddie, on my lap, guess who's back with a brand new rap. And I don't mean rap as in a case of child molestation."

It ends with Eminem's Jacko sitting on a bed with kids bouncing up and down behind him.

The Daily Star said Jackson is considering legal action if the rapper does not scrap the promo.

Jackson's spokesman said: "The Jackson family feels the video is demeaning and disrespectful and hopes Eminem will pull it.

"Michael is very displeased and doesn't want it shown."

The video was aired on MTV an VH1 for the first time at the weekend.

posted at 4:14 PM by john |

Films..

We watched Res Evil 2 and its excellent, a little short at just 90mins but we liked it alot. Nemesis is just the biz and nice to see more characters from the game in the film this time too :-) Also i got Van Helsing on vcd for Robertas cousins to watch as they were too young to get into the cinema to see it. Mind you i havent seen this film either so i will watch it when i get home tonite. We went to the cimena in conjunto National, it has just one screen but the place is huge and even though RE2 came out just last friday there were only around 10 people there with us so no screaming teenagers to disturb anything. I think we will go there again if they have more films in English as its dirt cheap and seems alot more peaceful too. There was a strange guy in the mens toilets though doing what i dont know but after seeing there was another guy in there watching whatever he was doing i opted to use another toilet inside the complex instead that was without wierd perverts lol

I see that Eminem has dedicated a part of his new video to Michael Pervert Jackson, i cant wait to see the video. Apparently Jackson is a little upset about it but then he should have thought about that before he started getting in bed with kids shouldnt he? A good thrashing is what this guy needs, just like they do in other countries with a bamboo cane. I wonder how he is going to get away with his crimes this time? Make no mistake he will get off on some technicality or drop cash in someones bank account. The strange thing that really gets to me is that if it had been me or you accused of such a crime they would have taken out kids and locked them away in some childrens home but Jackson probably just paid off some social worker and that was that. Isnt it nice when you've got lots of cash to sign away your crimes with? Now we can just hope and pray that this time he gets whats coming to him, a long stretch in a jail cell and all of his money and fancy stuff taken away from him so that he never goes back to Neverland again. If they can get him jailed i see visions of all the children saying thanks in their prayers knowing that they are safe, well at least until they let him out. Then he can go live with Gary Glitter and they can swap stories together about their experiences of being threatened with death all the time they were in prison. Flogging, whipping and caning need to be brought back, serious crimes need serious punishments and the punishments we have now just arent strong enough deterants.

Some guy just tried it on with me by saying that a large melon would cost me R$10, what a loser lol. I brought a huge melon the other day for just R$4 so i knew he was trying it on. Its the accent, they hear an accent different from theirs and automatically think money. Its quite sad really but i guess its not their fault, lack of a good education and other things we take for granted in my country make them what they are. The teachers in the public schools need to do a better job, i guess they dont realise that just sitting around teaching the verb to Be will only create the next generation of poor jobless criminals that will pray on people like themselves who have money.

Hmmm, im getting hungry here, time to go see whats in the fridge i guess..

posted at 10:39 AM by john |

Monday, October 11, 2004

Rain..

Well its pissing it down here at the moment, i hope it stops though as after my classes this afternoon i am going to go to the movies with Roberta to see Res Evil2. I was supposed to have the whole day off but because some of my groups are very behind in the schedule i had to give classes at one school but not a problem as i can still spend most of the afternoon and the night time with Roberta and also all day tomorrow at the farm as well. Mind you i am hoping that it will stop raining by tomorrow or it will be like a swamp getting to Robertas farm lol.

I think i must have slept funny last night as my back is burning like crazy at the moment. Probably slept in a draught i guess. I wont bother going to see a doc as i have seen the state of the queues at the local hospital and cant be bothered to spend a whole day queuing just to get some asprin or some injection. Maybe i can get Roberta go give me a massage or she can get something for it from the Chemists later downtown.

I wonder if my packages will arrive from the UK today? I am quite looking forward to reading the newspapers my family sent as there is not a chance of buying them here in Brasil. I get the feeling that they have the idea here that they dont need any English newspapers here so long as they have the TV page to tell people about the novellas in Portugues. It'll be good for Roberta to practice her reading skills too and i can photocopy parts to hopefully use in my MEC groups.

Talking of MEC, i have been working on that idea they had about some sort of news letter. I came up with something a little different though but along the same lines so maybe they will be interested. I think they could make somethin along the lines of a Newsweek magazine instead as it would enable them to take their time and just create something with around 20 pages or so. They could simply use Office and type the stuff or hand write it instead. I spent a little time the other day writting a few ideas down and on Wed i think i'll run it by them and see what they think about it. I will give just a few rules and let them do the main part themselves including what content by letting them edit and decide for themselves. Afterwards we could maybe print a couple and leave them to be read by the other students and see what sort of feedback they give us. also i wanna do some sort of questionaire to see what the students thought of the project, things they enjoyed or found difficult just to get some ideas of things. By Wednesday i should have most of the creases ironed out of my idea so i can present it to my group here and see what they think. Also i want them to do some sort of small compositions for me too, just so they can practice their written english skills. I think it'll be alot of fun for them. The poems display is just about ready, i couldnt bring it today as it was raining and i didnt wanna get here with a pile of soggy much so i am hoping wednesday it will be dryish so i can at least bring it here to slap on the wall. I am still a couple of poems missing, i must remember to chase the girls up about them hahaha!

Okay time for me to go get some copies done as class is in 10mins and also to check the time of the movies again..

posted at 11:33 AM by john |