English is Cool

segunda-feira, março 26

Romantic poetry from England


William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a major English
romantic poet. Along with Willian Blake he was a main
poet of this movement which emphasized the creative
expression of the individual and the need to find and
formulate new forms of expression.
The Romantic movement marked a shift in the use of
language, attempting to express the language of the
common man.


Daffodils

I wander'd lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretch'd in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
William Wordsworth, 1804


I cannot write poetry thus
my unrhymed translation:


Narcisos

Caminhei sozinho como uma nuvem
Que paira lá em cima sobre vales e colinas,
Quando subitamente vi uma multidão,
Uma hoste, de narcisos dourados;
Ao lado do lago, sob as árvores,
Esvoaçando e dançando com a brisa.
Intermitentes, como as estrelas que brilham
E piscam na Via Láctea,
Espalhavam-se numa linha sem fim
Pela margem de uma baía:
Dez mil percebi num relance,
Meneando suas cabeças em uma dança vivaz.
As ondas a seu lado dançavam também; mas eles
Superaram as ondas faiscantes com seu brilho:
Um poeta não poderia sentir-se senão alegre,

Em tão jocosa companhia:
Meus olhos alí fixaram-se longamente mas pouco pensei
Que bem-estar me trouxera esta visão:
Pois com frequência, deitado em meu sofá
Ou a fazer nada ou em estado pensativo,
Eles retornam a meus olhos interiores
Que vêm a ser a graça da solidão;
E então meu coração enche-se de prazer,
E dança com os narcisos.

sexta-feira, março 23

Did you know that...?

1.Coca-Cola was originally green.

2.It is impossible to lick your elbow.

3.The name of all the continents end with the
same letter that they start with.

4.There are two credit cards for every person
in the United States.

5.Typewriter is the longest word that can be made
using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

6.Women blink nearly twice as much as men!!!

7.You can't kill yourself by holding your breath.

8.The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

9.People say "bless you" when you sneeze because
when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond.

10.It is physically impossible for pigs to look up into the sky.

11.The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be
the toughest tongue twister in the English language.

12.And finally 99% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow.


I've borrowed these cool facts from Deepak.

Translation of the ones you wish is available upon
request through comments. :)


Have a nice weekend, folks!

domingo, março 18

A nice song from olden days

You've Got a Friend
Carole King

When you're down and troubled
And you need some love and care
And nothing, nothing is going right
Close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up even your darkest night
You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer, or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yes I will
You've got a friend
If the sky above you
Grows dark and full of clouds
And that old north wind begins to blow
Keep your head together and call my name out loud
Soon I’ll be knocking upon your door
You just call out my name
And you know wherever I am
I'll come running to see you again
Winter, spring, summer, or fall
All you have to do is call
And I'll be there, yes I will
You've got a friend
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you and desert you
And they'll take your soul if you let them
But don't you let them
You just call out my name …

quinta-feira, março 15

Dedicated to you, friends



Either in verse, prose or images, some of the blog owners
I’ve been making friends with have been granting us with
pretty good poetry.
Today’s post is meant to pay them homage.


Poetry is the journal of the sea animals living on land,
wanting to fly in the air. Poetry is a search for syllables to
shoot at the barriers of the unknown and the unknowable.
Poetry is a phantom script telling how rainbows are made
and why they go away.
Carl Sandburg
.
.
Seja em verso, prosa ou imagens, alguns dos donos de blog
com quem tenho feito amizade têm-nos contemplado com
poesia muito boa.
A posta de hoje quer prestar-lhes homenagem.


Poesia é o jornal de animais marinhos que vivem na terra,
mas querendo voar. Poesia é a busca por sílabas que
derrubem as barreiras do desconhecido e do inconhecível.
Poesia é um roteiro fantasma que conta como são feitos
os arco-íris e porque eles se vão.
Carl Sandburg

sexta-feira, março 9

T.G.I.F.

Hi, folks!

Have you ever come across these letters put together?
Well, they stand for Thank God It's Friday!
I'd say on my behalf ... T.G.I.F.M. ...
that is, Thank God It's Friday Morning 'cause then I can
find time for a little posting ...

Is anybody flying this weekend?
In case you are, here goes my advice by means of a pun:

If you step onto a plane and see a friend of
yours named Jack, don't yell out: Hi, Jack!

to hijack = to take forcible control of a public transport vehicle


Have a nice weekend :)

sexta-feira, março 2

These are words that go together well

Art arises when the secret vision of the artist and
the manifestation of nature agree to find new shapes.
Kahlil Gibran
.
Each person has their own vocation; their talent is their call.
There is one direction in which all space is open to them.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
.
Genius is one percent inspiration
and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
Thomas Alva Edson
.
Creativity comes from trust.
Trust your instincts and never hope more than you work.
Unknown
.