ABBAWORLD, THE ITINERANT INTERACTIVE ABBA EXHIBITION

The fascination with ABBA is endless, and the expectations are enormous. The ABBAWORLD opening is a major world event, made possible only through intense collaboration with Björn, Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid, thus turning ABBAWORLD into the definitive experience of the group, and the only exhibition of its kind officially approved by the members of ABBA.

Your audio-guided tour through 25 unique ABBA rooms. Your journey through ABBAWORLD will take you through more than 25 different ABBA rooms, letting you experience the phenomenon in a completely unique way. All the way through the exhibition, you will be accompanied by your personal audio guide, and thus you can enjoy it at your own pace.

The phenomenon comes alive. The Swedish super group created a legendary sound that sold close to 400 million records, and they made the whole world take to the dance floor. Their sixth sense for creating hits and their perfection when it came to details took the music, stage costumes and the shows to levels that continue to inspire artists of today.

ABBA is once again creating history through this interactive and audio-visual experience of the pop icons. To resurrect the magic of ABBA, ABBAWORLD is using state-of-the-art multimedia technology. The excitement and presence in the time and space of ABBA is recreated in a way no-one thought possible. We welcome you to a mind-blowing journey through the music, memories, and magic of ABBA!

The original Abba memorabilia – contributed by the four icons and others.
A large number of the ABBA treasures on display that have never been shown before are handpicked and previously owned by the four members of the group. There are also hundreds of other original memorabilia - everything from stage clothes, instruments, theatrical props and personal belongings to unique videos, TV interviews and photos from the astonishing career of the band. In addition, there will be a huge amount of ABBA-related items from band members, Stikkan Andersson’s family, the stage crew, fans and other key people from all around the world. On top of that, both newly recorded and old material that has never been shown before will be presented.

Content examples: stage costumes, instruments and personal belongings, gold records and awards, extensive gallery of promotional movies and pictures, exclusive interviews and TV-performance displays, fan-related items, merchandise.

ABBA– a place for total interaction. The phenomenon of ABBA will be brought to life in over 25 spectacular environments and with many interactive highlights including ‘Perform with ABBA’, which will allow fans to get up on stage with their idols as part of a stunning 3D holographic illusion. The ‘Tretow MIX Challenge’ gives visitors a chance to mix songs and re-create the ABBA sound while the ‘ABBA Quiz’ which will test the fans’ knowledge. There is also the opportunity to sing along and dance with ABBA, plus a chance for fans to see themselves in an ABBA video.

Better still, any interactive activities will be recorded on the entrance ticket, and visitors can access them at any time online on http://www.abbaworld.com/, allowing the experience to live on and on, just like the music. On entry to ABBAWORLD, guests will have their photograph taken, and this will appear during a number of the interactive features, for example fans will be able to see themselves on ABBA album covers, posters and other iconic pictures.

It is no coincidence that ABBAWORLD premieres in London. The UK has a special place in the history of ABBA because it was here that global ABBA fever started with the glorious win of Waterloo at the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton in 1974. ABBA topped the charts in the UK more times than anywhere else in the world and through the smash hit musical Mamma Mia! and its ten-year success in London, together with the Mamma Mia! movie that became the highest grossing film of all times at the UK box office, a new audience has taken ABBA to their hearts. Later it will be taken to other European countries as well as USA & Australia, to end up as a permanent museum in their home town Stockholm.

CNN report on the ABBAWorld opening:

Official video of the opening:

JANUARY, 30th: SCHOOL'S PEACE DAY. DECLAN GALBRAITH "TELL ME WHY"

On January 30th, School's Peace Day is commemorated. This year as it's Saturday, it'll be celebrated on Friday 29th. The teachers at our school library will be reading and listening to texts, poems & songs related to peace awareness. One of the songs they've chosen is by Declan Galbraith "TELL ME WHY". I include below the video of the song with English lyrics & Spanish subtitles and some information about this young artist.

Declan John Galbraith (born 19 December 1991, Hoo St Werburgh, Kent) is an English singer of Irish and Scottish origin. He and his family are now living in South East England. His grandfather was in a band, played several instruments, and took Declan to Fleadhs (concerts) he was participating in, and the mix of Scottish and Irish musical traditions inspired Declan and became his early musical influence.

When 7 years old he insisted on singing spontaneously at the annual Rochester Dickens Festival, a two-day event where people were invited to dress up in Victorian costumes to celebrate the life and times of the famous author Charles Dickens and his links with their town. Little Declan, dressed up as a chimney sweep, started singing. Soon after this he started to enter local talent contests and within a year he had won 15 titles and more than £1,000.
As a result of his success in the talent shows, the major recording companies soon heard about Declan and he was signed to his first recording contract in England. His first recording was ‘Walking in the Air’, which was released on a special Christmas Hits album, also featuring Westlife, Elton John and Elvis Presley. Declan loves to sing to live audiences and among some of performances included the Queen’s Jubilee at St Paul’s Cathedral, when he sang ‘Amazing Grace’ accompanied by the St Paul’s Choir and singing in front of more than 22,000 people at an Elton John concert.
His first self-titled album, Declan, with Irish traditional songs and some specially written material became charted in the U.K. and Ireland. Within the year of release it had 200,000 copies in Germany.

Discography
Albums
Declan (2002)
Thank You (2006)
You and Me (2007)
Singles
"Tell Me Why" (2002)
"Love of My Life" (2007)
"Ego You" (2007)

Links:

Declan's official website:

http://www.declan-music.de/

Video "TELL ME WHY" (with English lyrics)


Video "TELL ME WHY" (with Spanish subtitles)

"SOLDIER OF LOVE", SADE'S NEW SONG IN 10 YEARS

Helen Folasade Adu, OBE, (born 16 January 1959, so she's 51 today), better known as Sade (pronounced /ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY), is a British Nigerian singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer. She first achieved success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Brit and Grammy Award winning English group Sade.

Sade was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Her middle name, Folasade, means honor confers your crown.Her parents, Bisi Adu, a Nigerian lecturer in economics of Yoruba background, and Anne Hayes, an English nurse, met in London and moved to Nigeria. Later, when the marriage ran into difficulties, Anne Hayes returned to Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, England, taking four-month-old Sade and her older brother Banji to live with her parents. Living in Colchester, Essex, Sade read a good deal, developed an interest in fashion, acquired a taste for dancing and listened to soul artists like Curtis Mayfield, Donny Hathaway, and Marvin Gaye.

Sade's discography
1984: Diamond Life
1985: Promise
1988: Stronger Than Pride
1992: Love Deluxe
1992: Remix Deluxe
1994: The Best of Sade
2000: Lovers Rock
2002: Lovers Live
2010: Soldier of Love

Today we premiere her latest video "SOLDIER OF LOVE":

Links:

Audio "SOLDIER OF LOVE"+lyrics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5MnESIaRME

Video "SOLDIER OF LOVE", Sade:

Audio "SOLDIER OF LOVE", Sade (+lyrics):

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY: THE SIMPSONS, 20 TODAY!

The Simpsons is an American animated television sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its eponymous family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional city of Springfield, and lampoons American culture, society, television and many aspects of the human condition.
The family was conceived by Groening shortly before a pitch for a series of animated shorts with the producer James L. Brooks. Groening created a dysfunctional family and named the characters after members of his own family, substituting Bart for his own name. The shorts became a part of The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987. After a three-season run, the sketch was developed into a half-hour prime time show and was an early hit for Fox.
Since its debut on December 17, 1989 the show has broadcast 449 episodes and the twenty-first season began airing on September 27, 2009.The Simpsons Movie, a feature-length film, was released in theaters worldwide on July 26 and July 27, 2007, and grossed US$527 million worldwide.
The Simpsons has won dozens of awards since it debuted as a series, including 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, 26 Annie Awards and a Peabody Award. Time magazine's December 31, 1999 issue named it the 20th century's best television series, and on January 14, 2000 the Simpson family was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Simpsons is the longest-running American sitcom, the longest-running American animated program, and in 2009 it became the longest American primetime entertainment series, and have influenced many adult-oriented animated sitcoms.

THE ULTIMATE GLOBAL ISSUE: CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to millions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution of weather events around an average (for example, greater or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth.
In recent usage, especially in the context of environmental policy, climate change usually refers to changes in modern climate. It may be qualified as anthropogenic climate change, more generally known as global warming.

Factors that can shape climate are climate forcings. These include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth's orbit, mountain-building and continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. There are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate forcing because of their large mass. Therefore, the climate system can take centuries or longer to fully respond to new external forcings

Meanwhile the United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held at Copenhagen with little success in taking decisions as talks are at a deadlock. Below enclosed are diagrams, pictures and even jokes on the issue:

AMINATOU HAIDAR'S STORY UP TO HER HUNGER STRIKE

Born July 24, 1966 in the town of Tata, Morocco, Ms. Haidar studied modern literature and received her Bachelor's degree in Laayoune.
Because of her pro-Sahrawi ideology, she was persecuted by the Moroccan authorities on several occasions. In 1987, then aged 21, she participated (with 700 other people) in an event seeking a referendum for independence of the Sahara. She was taken into custody and sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2005, she was sentenced by Moroccan authorities to seven months in prison in Laayoune. Amnesty International, which sent an observer to identify any irregularities in the conditions and reasons for her detention, classified her as a prisoner of conscience. Members of Parliament have also launched an international campaign to release Ms. Haidar. It was signed by 178 members.
After more than a month of detention, Ms. Haidar was released in January 2006. Her release revived militancy among the pro-Sahrawi, which resulted in street demonstrations in Laayoune and among Sahrawi students at the University Cadi Ayyad of Marrakesh.
In August 2006, Haidar was denied a Moroccan passport for her two children.
Under the Equity and Reconciliation Commission (IER). Aminatou received 45,000 Euros in compensation from the Moroccan authorities when she presented herself as a Moroccan.
On November 13, 2009, returning from New York where she received a civic courage award from the Train Foundation, Ms. Haidar marked on her immigration form while entering Morocco that she was "resident in Western Sahara" and left the nationality section blank. She then argued with the customs who objected. She was then heard by an attorney and several witnesses of her own family, before whom she proclaimed herself a non-Moroccan by throwing her passport and identity card at the Moroccan official. She then decided to take a plane bound for Lanzarote, Canary Islands, where the flight had previously stopped. Despite having no passport, she persuaded the captain of the aircraft, pointing out her Spanish residency card. The captain was initially reluctant but finally received approval from Spanish authorities to board.
Once in Lanzarote airport in the Canary Islands, Ms. Haidar began a hunger strike.
Prizes: Given her activism on behalf of independence of Western Sahara, Ms. Haidar was nominated for several awards:
Juan Maria Bandrés (2006)
Solidar Silver Rose Award (2007)
RFK Human Rights Award (2008)
Civil Courage Award (2009)

THE VERVE: "BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY"

The Verve

"Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a song by English alternative rock band The Verve. It is the lead track on their third album Urban Hymns (1997). It was released on 16 June 1997 as the first single from the album, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart.

The video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony" features Ashcroft lip-synching the song while walking down a busy street; Ashcroft refuses to change his stride or direction throughout, apparently oblivious to what is going on around him. He repeatedly bumps into passers-by (causing at least one to trip and fall), narrowly avoids being hit by a car, and jumps on top of the bonnet of another vehicle stopped in his path (the owner proceeds to shout at him while he seems to be unaware). At the end of the video, the rest of The Verve join Ashcroft, and the final shot sees them walking down the street into the distance.
Ashcroft starts walking from the southeast corner of the intersection of Hoxton and Falkirk Streets in Hoxton, north London, subsequently proceeding north along the east side of Hoxton Street. Hope you like it!

LINK: Video with English subtitles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24-YFCp1FXI
Video with Spanish translation:

PREPOSITIONS: AT / IN / ON

Somebody wanted to have clear information on prepostions AT, IN & ON. Here are links to their uses refering to TIME & PLACE.

AT, IN, ON as Prepositions of Time:
Link:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-time.htm

AT, IN, ON as Prepostions of Place:
Link:
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/prepositions-at-in-on-place.htm

And here are links to quizzes to practice:
(1) http://esl.about.com/library/quiz/blgrquiz_prep3.htm
(2) http://a4esl.org/q/h/9704/dg-in-at-on.html
(3) http://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/64.html

Information on prepositions on a later entry on this blog: MORE ON PREPOSITIONS. Posted on February 27th, 2011 under blog label: Grammar.

25th NOVEMBER: INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

I Got Flowers Today
I got flowers today.
It wasn't my birthday or any other special day.
We had our first argument last night,
And he said a lot of cruel things that really hurt me.
I know he is sorry and didn't mean the things he said.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
It wasn't our anniversary any other special day.
Last night, he threw me into a wall and started to choke me.
It seemed like a nightmare.
I couldn't believe it was real.
I woke up this morning sore and bruised all over.
I know he must be sorry.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today,and it wasn't Mother's Day or any other special day.
Last night, he beat me up again.
And it was much worse than all the other times.
If I leave him, what will I do?
How will I take care of my kids?
What about money?
I'm afraid of him and scared to leave.
But I know he must be sorry.
Because he sent me flowers today.

I got flowers today.
Today was a very special day.
It was the day of my funeral.
Last night, he finally killed me.
He beat me to death.
If only I had gathered enough courage and strength to leave him,
I would not have gotten flowers...today. (Paulette Kelly)

Violence Against Women:

"I'LL BE THERE FOR YOU", THE REMBRANDTS, MUSIC THEME FROM "FRIENDS"

In previous post, we enclosed videos from TV-series "Friends" with reference to Thanksgiving Day. I'm enclosing now video & lyrics from the main music theme of the series for you to practice & enjoy.

Video "I'll be there for you" (music theme from "Friends") by The Rembrandts:


Song lyrics:

So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your jobs a joke, you're broke, your love life's D.O.A.
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
Well it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year but..

I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

You're still in bed at ten
And work began at eight
You've burned your breakfast
So far... things are goin' great
Your mother warned you there'd be days like these
Oh but she didn't tell you
when the world would drop you down on your knees but....
I'll be there for you
When the rain starts to pour
I'll be there for you
Like I've been there before
I'll be there for you
'Cuz you're there for me too...

No one could ever know me
No one could ever see me
Seems you're the only one who knows
What it's like to be me
Someone to face the day with
Make it through all the rest with
Someone I'll always laugh with
Even at my worst I'm best with you, yeah
It's like you're always stuck in second gear
And it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year...

I'll be there for you...

EVERYBODY GROWS OLD: "SESAME STREET" TURNS 40 TODAY!

Big Bird, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Bert, Elmo...

Sesame Street is an American educational children's television series, specially aimed for preschoolers, and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. The series, which has produced over 4,200 episodes, celebrates its 40th anniversary this season, making it one of the longest-running shows in television history.

Sesame Street is well known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, and is the longest running children's programme on US television.The show is produced in the United States by the non-profit organization Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Ralph Rogers.

Sesame Street uses a combination of animation, puppets, and live actors to stimulate young children's minds, improve their letter and word recognition, basic arithmetic, geometric forms, classification, simple problem solving, and socialization by showing children or people in their everyday lives. Since the show's inception, other instructional goals have been basic life skills, such as how to cross the street safely, proper hygiene, healthy eating habits, and social skills; in addition, real-world situations are taught, such as death, divorce, pregnancy and birth, adoption, and even all of the human emotions such as happiness, love, anger, fear, sadness, and hatred.

The show is broadcast worldwide; in addition to the U.S. version, many countries have locally-produced versions adapted to local needs, some with their own characters, and in a variety of different languages. The Spanish version is called "Barrio Sésamo".

Have you grown up with them, too?

Have a look at some videos from the programme in English:

Links:

Video Ernie & Bert (=Epi & Blas in the Spanish version): "Cookies in Bed":

Video Ernie & Bert: ·Bananaphone"

Video beginning of "Barrio Sésamo" (Spanish TV):

Video "Manamana" (A famous "Sesame Street" song):

WHEN TO USE AN APOSTROPHE

Here's a quick guide to the use of apostrophes. Remember:
- USE IT IN CONTRACTIONS.
don't / can't / it's / we're / you'd / etc...
- USE IT WITH THE POSSESSIVE GENITIVE.
Peter's car / Mary's umbrella / the cat's feet / etc...
- BUT NEVER USE IT TO MAKE PLURALS OF NOUNS.
books / houses / tomatoes / DVDs / CDs / 80s / etc...

SUZANNE VEGA: "LUKA"

Suzanne Vega


"Luka" is a song recorded by Suzanne Vega and released as a single in 1987. It remains her highest-charting hit in the United States, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was one of the earliest to deal with child abuse and domestic violence. One critic said, "the 'happy' music is a metaphorical denial, making this seem beautiful and serene while discussing something terrible and devastating. It is a wonderful use of tune as a metaphor for how many abuse victims also deny their abuse, and is a profound classic".

"Luka" is written from the perspective of an abused boy of that name who is evasive about what sounds are coming from his apartment. He eventually opens up, trying to understand his situation."A few years ago, I used to see this group of children playing in front of my building, and there was one of them, whose name was Luka, who seemed a little bit distinctive from the other children. I always remembered his name, and I always remembered his face, and I didn't know much about him, but he just seemed set apart from these other children that I would see playing. And his character is what I based the song Luka on. In the song, the boy Luka is an abused child -- In real life I don't think he was. I think he was just different."—Suzanne Vega, in a Swedish television special recorded 3 November 1987

"LUKA" lyrics for karaoke:


"LUKA" original videoclip with lyrics:

KEANE: "EVERYBODY'S CHANGING"

Keane

"Hopes & fears" (2004)

"Hopes and Fears" is the debut album by English rock band Keane and was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom. It topped the UK album charts upon release, was the best selling British album of 2004, and has since gone eight times platinum. It returned to the top of the charts after winning a BRIT Award for Best Album in February 2005. With almost six million copies sold, it has been ranked the 16th biggest-selling album of the millennium so far in the UK.

On November, 9th it'll be rereleased in a deluxe edition. We remember it here with videos from one of the singles from the album "Everybody's changing".

"Everybody's Changing" uses similar instrumentation as is used throughout Hopes and Fears. The style of "Everybody's Changing" has been described as "piano rock", a style of rock in which the piano is the main instrument instead of the guitar. After the main piano riff, the piano is not used until the second verse. Throughout the song, a synthesizer is played in the background. The song is about trying to work out where you are in the world, while some of the people around you are going off and doing different things. Tim wrote it while we were really struggling to get anywhere as a band, and we were watching all our friends move away and get on with their lives, while we were stuck in Battle getting nowhere, and wondering if we were doing the right thing.

Sing-along.

Links to "EVERYBODY'S CHANGING":

Original videoclip of the song


"EVERYBODY'S CHANGING" live (with English lyrics & Spanish translation):

WHAT'S HALLOWEEN ALL ABOUT?

Halloween (also spelled Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a secular celebration but some have expressed strong feelings about perceived religious overtones.
The day is often associated with orange and black, and is strongly associated with symbols like the jack-o'-lantern. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Halloween has origins in the ancient festival known as Samhain (pronounced sow-in or sau-an),[ which is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".This was a Gaelic festival celebrated mainly in Ireland and Scotland. However, similar festivals were held by other Celts – for example the festival of Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf) which was held by the ancient Britons.

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year".
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name Halloween and many present-day traditions, derive from the Old English era

The term Halloween, originally spelled Hallowe’en, is shortened from All Hallows' Even – e'en is a shortening of even, which is a shortening of evening. This is ultimately derived from the Old English Eallra Hālgena ǣfen It is now known as "Eve of" All Saints' Day, which is November 1st.
A time of pagan festivities, Popes Gregory III (731–741) and Gregory IV (827–844) tried to supplant it with the Christian holiday (All Saints' Day) by moving it from May 13 to November 1.
In the 800s, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were once celebrated on the same day.

Trick-or-treating is a customary celebration for children on Halloween. Children go in costume from house to house, asking for treats such as candy or sometimes money, with the question, "Trick or treat?" The word "trick" refers to a (mostly idle) threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. In some parts of Ireland and Scotland children still go guising. In this custom the child performs some sort of show, i.e. sings a song or tells a ghost story, in order to earn their treats.

Halloween costumes are traditionally those of monsters such as ghosts, skeletons, witches, and devils. They are said to be used to scare off demons. Costumes are also based on themes other than traditional horror, such as those of characters from television shows, movies, and other pop culture icons.

ASTERIX & OBELIX, 50th ANNIVERSARY

Asterix & his friend Obelix turn 50!!

France is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Astérix, the comic book character whose adventures find him battling the armies of Julius Caesar with his Gallic buddies in Brittany more than 2,000 years ago. Since Astérix made his debut in 1959, he has starred in three movies and 34 books, and has fans worldwide. From Paris, Lisa Bryant takes a look at what makes France's cartoon mascot so beloved.Astérix is not your typical hero. He is not tall or handsome, and he is certainly not a prince. But along with his sidekicks, enormous, goofy Obelix and dog Idéfix, Astérix wages battle against the ancient Romans to defend the Gaullish way of life.

Astérix comic books and cartoon strips have been published in 107 languages and dialects. Three Astérix movies have drawn millions of viewers. The French version of the latest Astérix book, The Birthday of Astérix and Obelix, was launched Thursday.Nobody could be more surprised about Astérix's stunning success than the original illustrator of Astérix, Albert Uderzo, who has also authored the series since the death of the original writer, Rene Goscinny.

Uderzo told French radio that Astérix was born when the owner of a French magazine called Pilote wanted a comic strip his kids could read that represented French culture. The creators settled on Gaulles as their characters, because he said, nothing is more French than the Gaulles.Astérix' half-century birthday is being celebrated around France with special exhibits and other commemorations. In the Paris suburb of Bobigny, a plaque was unveiled honoring his 1959 birth there. Several villages in Brittany, the part of ancient Gaulle never conquered by the Romans, are also claiming to have inspired the Astérix series.Many see Astérix as the ultimate symbol of France and the battle of many French to preserve their culture and way of life.But Astérix has fans worldwide, including Brian Spence, the Canadian owner of The Abbey Bookshop in Paris. Spence has a copy of every Astérix book in his English language book store. He says they remain in demand. Spence started reading Astérix when he was young."I am still a fan. I have not kept up with the latest ones, to tell you the truth," he said. "But sure, I went to see the premiere of Astérix and Cleopatra when it was at the Grand Rex [movie theatre], almost 30,000 people there just to laugh along. There is a very special place in my heart for Astérix."So what is Astérix' appeal, 50 years later?"Maybe we identify with the imperial pretensions," he explained. "Manifest destiny, and so forth. And I think most of the world probably feels it is in the same situation as Astérix and his village Gaullois in that we can identify with that sense of wanting to hold out and resist against the encroaching powers. That sense of using your wits and a little bit of brawn to get out of peril, danger or any kind of threat."And besides, Spence says, there is always a bit of exoticism, because Astérix is French. That makes fans want to keep on reading, to get a better understanding of what Astérix, and France, is all about.

HISTORY OF THE NOBEL PRIZE

The Nobel Prize (Swedish: Nobelpriset) is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901. An associated prize, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, was instituted by Sweden's central bank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.The Nobel Prizes in the specific disciplines (Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature) and the Prize in Economics, which is commonly identified with them, are widely regarded as the most prestigious award one can receive in those fields.

With the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economics are presented in Stockholm, Sweden, at the annual Prize Award Ceremony on the 10th of December, the anniversary of Nobel's death. The recipients' lectures are presented in the days prior to the award ceremony. The Nobel Peace Prize and its recipients' lectures are presented at the annual Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, also on the 10th of December. The award ceremonies and the associated banquets are typically major international events.
It is unclear why Nobel wished the Peace Prize to be administered in Norway. The Norwegian Nobel Committee speculates that Norway may have been better suited to awarding the prize as it did not have the same militaristic traditions as Sweden and that at the end of the nineteenth century the Norwegian parliament had become closely involved in the Inter-Parliamentary Union's efforts to resolve conflicts through mediation and arbitration.

Further, at the time the Nobel prizes were instituted, Norway and Sweden were joined together in a union known as the Swedish-Norwegian Union. It is possible Nobel felt that Norway deserved a share of awarding the prize honors.

Nobel Laureates 2009

Physics:
Charles K. Kao "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication"

Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor"
Chemistry:
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome"
Physiology or Medicine:
Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase"
Literature:
Herta Müller "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed"
Peace:
Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples"
Prize in Economics:
Elinor Ostrom "for her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons"

SOME INFO ON EDGAR ALLAN POE

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. He is further credited with contributing to the emerging genre of science fiction. He was the first well-known American writer to try to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a financially difficult life and career.
He was born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts; his parents died when he was young. Poe was taken in by John and Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they never formally adopted him. After spending a short period at the University of Virginia and briefly attempting a military career. Poe's publishing career began humbly, with an anonymous collection of poems, Tamerlane and Other Poems (1827), credited only to "a Bostonian".
Poe switched his focus to prose and spent the next several years working for literary journals and periodicals, becoming known for his own style of literary criticism. His work forced him to move between several cities, including Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City. In Baltimore in 1835, he married Virginia Clemm, his 13-year-old cousin. In January 1845, Poe published his poem "The Raven" to instant success. His wife died of tuberculosis two years later. He began planning to produce his own journal, The Penn (later renamed The Stylus), though he died before it could be produced. On October 7, 1849, at age 40, Poe died in Baltimore; the cause of his death is unknown and has been variously attributed to alcohol, brain congestion, cholera, drugs, heart disease, suicide, tuberculosis, and other agents.
Poe and his works influenced literature in the United States and around the world. Poe and his work appear throughout popular culture in literature, music, films, and television. A number of his homes are dedicated museums today.

Poe's best known fiction works are Gothic, a genre he followed to appease the public taste. His most recurring themes deal with questions of death, including its physical signs, the effects of decomposition, concerns of premature burial, the reanimation of the dead, and mourning. Many of his works are generally considered part of the dark romanticism genre. Poe also wrote satires, humor tales. For comic effect, he used irony and ludicrous extravagance. Poe also reinvented science fiction.

His influence in pop culture has been considerable and long-standing, with the works, life and image of the horror fiction writer and poet inspiring scrip-writers, composers and musicians from diverse genres for more than a century.

Selected list of works
Tales
"The Black Cat"
"The Fall of the House of Usher"
"The Masque of the Red Death"
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
"The Oval Portrait"
"The Premature Burial"
"The Purloined Letter"
"The Tell-Tale Heart"
Poetry
"Annabel Lee"
"The Bells"
"The City in the Sea"
"A Dream Within A Dream"
"Eldorado"
"The Haunted Palace"
"To Helen"
"Lenore"
"The Raven"

HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA: PROTAGONIST OF AMENABAR'S NEW FILM "AGORA"

Hypatia of Alexandria (pronounced /haɪˈpeɪʃə/ in English) (Greek: Ὑπατία; born between AD 350 and 370 – 415) was a Greek scholar from Alexandria in Egypt, considered the first notable woman in mathematics, who also taught philosophy and astronomy. She lived in Roman Egypt, and was killed by a Christian mob who blamed her for religious turmoil. Some suggest that her murder marked the end of what is traditionally known as Classical antiquity, although others observe that Hellenistic philosophy continued to flourish until the age of Justinian in the sixth century.
A Neoplatonist philosopher, she belonged to the mathematical tradition of the Academy of Athens represented by Eudoxus of Cnidus; she followed the school of the 3rd century thinker Plotinus, discouraging empirical enquiry and encouraging logical and mathematical studies.

Hypatia was the daughter of Theon, who was her teacher and the last known mathematician associated with the Museum of Alexandria. She travelled to both Athens and Italy to study, before becoming head of the Platonist school at Alexandria in approximately 400 AD. According to the 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia the Suda, she worked as teacher of philosophy, teaching the works of Plato and Aristotle. It is believed that there were both Christians and foreigners among her students.
Although Hypatia was herself a pagan, she was respected by a number of Christians, and later held up by Christian authors as a symbol of virtue.

Many of the works commonly attributed to Hypatia are believed to have been collaborative works with her father, Theon Alexandricus; this kind of authorial uncertainty being typical for the situation of feminine philosophy in Antiquity.

A partial list of specific accomplishments:
A commentary on the 13-volume Arithmetica by Diophantus.

A commentary on the Conics of Apollonius.
Edited the existing version of Ptolemy's Almagest.
Edited her father's commentary on Euclid's Elements
She wrote a text "The Astronomical Canon." (Possibly a new edition of Ptolemy's Handy Tables.) Her contributions to science are reputed to include the charting of celestial bodies and the invention of the hydrometer, used to determine the relative density and gravity of liquids.
Her pupil Synesius, bishop of Cyrene, wrote a letter defending her as the inventor of the astrolabe, although earlier astrolabes predate Hypatia's model by at least a century - and her father had gained fame for his treatise on the subject.

Believed to have been the reason for the strained relationship between the Imperial Prefect Orestes and the Bishop Cyril, Hypatia attracted the ire of a Christian population eager to see the two reconciled. One day in March 415, during the season of Lent, her chariot was waylaid on her route home by a Christian mob, possibly Nitrian monks led by a man identified only as Peter, who is thought to be Peter the Reader, Cyril's assistant. The Christian monks stripped her naked and dragged her through the streets to the newly Christianised Caesareum church, where she was brutally killed.

"AGORA" is an upcoming 2009 historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar, written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil, and starring Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella. It was screened Out of Competition at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. It will then get a general release on December 18, 2009, but in Spain this Friday, October 9th.

It tells the story of astronomer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria (Weisz) and her relationship with her slave Davus (Minghella), who is torn between his love for his mistress and the possibility of gaining his freedom by joining the rising tide of Christianity

Links to:

"AGORA" video trailer of film in English:

Official film website:

http://agorathemovie.com/