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English as an Additional Language/Print version< English as an Additional Language
This book attempts to introduce prospective students to the English language. We hope to create a solid and well-done course to those who wish to learn how to speak, read, and write English. The benefits of learning this language are manifold: English is spoken in more countries than any other language, and is considered the "lingua franca," or international language of the world. It is the primary or major secondary language in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and many other countries, and is used by businesspeople, travelers, etc. across the world.
This book is intended for both non-native speakers learning English, and teachers trying to teach the English language. While it does not talk about the aspects of teaching, it contains content that should be useful.
Check back often for more content!
There are two basic forms of English as an additional language: English to use in an English-speaking region (e.g. by refugees and immigrants) and English to use in a non-English-speaking region (e.g. by international business people).
This textbook offers resources for English teachers working in both contexts. When appropriate we will mark information that is specific to one discipline or the other. Included are language reference information, teaching techniques and tips, historical information about the English language, and activities to be used in your classes.
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) refers to English for use in the second of these situations, in a non-English-speaking region. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) is a common abbreviation for the teaching aspect (education, career and methods).
In North America, in the first situation, English for use in an English-speaking region, is known as English as a Second Language (ESL). In Britain this is called English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) in recognition of the fact that many of the learners already speak more than one language. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is a common abbreviation for the teaching aspect.
- Chapter 0: Morphology and Spelling
The English alphabet
Note: if the target audience's native language already uses the Latin alphabet, then much of this information can be omitted.
English is written with the Latin alphabet. It consists of 26 letters:
lower-case letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z
upper-case letters: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Each letter has a lower-case and an upper-case (or "capital") form. In some cases (e.g. the letters S, X, and O), the upper-case form is simply a larger version of the lower-case. However, some letters have differing forms in upper- and lower-case, such as A, Q, and T. Lower-case letters evolved from modified forms of the upper-case letters, which were used in ancient times.
Vowels and Consonants
There are 5 vowel letters in English: a, e, i, o, u ("y" and "w" also act as vowels, and are used for orthographic reasons). This does not correlate with the number of vowel sounds, of which there are about 14, depending on dialect.
There are 21 consonant letters: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z.
In many cases, the spelling of an English word only gives a rough indication of its pronunciation. For this reason, the English spelling system is notorious for being one of the hardest to learn of all the alphabetic scripts.
click here (help·info) to listen to the pronunciation of the alphabet.
The symbols used for consonants are shown in the following table. Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the left is voiceless, the one to the right voiced.
|p b
|t d
|k g
|tʃ dʒ
|f v
|θ ð
|s z
|ʃ ʒ
|(ʍ) w
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation is the prestige British accent, sometimes referred to as BBC English. It is used as the standard in most media within Great Britain.
Full vowels
Full vowels are those that appear in stressed syllables.
|to /ɪ/
|to /ʊ/
|Starting close
|ɪə ʊə
|Starting mid
|eɪ ɔɪ
|Starting open
Reduced vowels
Reduced vowels occur in unstressed syllables.
- /ɪ/: roses
- /ə/: Rosa's, runner
- /l̩/: bottle
- /n̩/: button
- /m̩/: rhythm
General American
General American is the standardized accent of the United States, and is the dialect most commonly used in spoken media there.
Full vowels
Note: the vowels /e/ and /o/ are usually diphthongal, so the transcriptions /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ are also often used. [1]
|to /ɪ/
|to /ʊ/
|Starting close
|ɪɹ ʊɹ
|Starting mid
|ɛɹ ɔɹ
|Starting open
Reduced vowels
- /ɨ/: roses (for many Americans merged with /ə/)
- /ə/: Rosa's
- /ɚ/: runner
- /l̩/: bottle
- /n̩/: button
- /m̩/: rhythm
General Australian
Full vowels
|to unrounded
|to rounded
|Starting close
|ɪə ʊə
|Starting mid
|Starting open
|æɪ ɑe
Reduced vowels
- /ə/: roses, Rosa's, runner
- /l̩/: bottle
- /n̩/: button
- /m̩/: rhythm
- ↑ Roca, Iggy & Johnson, Wyn (1999). Course in Phonology. Blackwell Publishing.
General rules of spelling and capitalization
English has many rules on capitalization and spelling, and spelling tends to vary between different dialects (especially British English and American English).
Capitalization in English
There are several times when letters must be capitalized in English. They are:
1) At the start of a sentence; "The cat is on the bed."
2) The first letter of a proper noun (a month/day/country/language/name etc.) and adjectives, adverbs etc. derived from them; "Peter went to Spain on Tuesday." and "John ate a Spanish dish."
3) In a religious context, when using 'he' to refer to God; "He thought it good."
4) First person singular: "I".
Spelling in English
British English and American English have different ways of spelling certain words, especially those with ou in the middle, for example:
1. British English: colour, American English: color. 2. British English: honour, American English: honor.
Another variation is the use of 'z' instead of 's' in certain words in American English. 1. British English: capitalisation, American English: capitalization 2. British English: modernisation, American English: modernization. 3. British English: industrialisation, American English: industrialization. This usually only applies to words that end in -ise and -isation.
- Chapter 1: First Sentences
Greetings and Expressions
Before we get into grammar it is useful to learn some common greetings and expressions in English. Here are some common phrases and their translations in Spanish, French, German, Polish respectively.
|Dzień dobry
|How are you?
|¿Cómo Estás?
|Comment vas-tu?
|Wie geht's?
|Jak się masz?
|كيف حالك؟
|Come stai?
|I am good/bad
|Estoy bien/mal
|Ça va bien/mal
|Es geht mir gut/schlecht
|Czuję się dobrze/źle
|انا بخير \مستاء
|Sto bene/male
|Au revoir
|Auf Wiedersehen
|Do widzenia
|مع السلامه
|Thank You
|You're welcome
|De nada
|De rien
|Gern geschehen
|على الرحب و السعه
|What's your name?
|¿Cómo te llamas?
|Quel est votre nom ?
|Wie heißt du?
|Jak masz na imię?
|ما اسمك؟
|Come ti chiami?
|My name is...
|Me llamo...
|Je m'appelle...
|Ich heiße...
|Mam na imię...
|اسمي ...
|Mi chiamo...
Articles and Adjectives
Next up we will learn two very important things: articles and adjectives. Both articles and adjectives typically occur before the noun they modify, with articles occurring before adjectives.
Like other languages, English has a definite and an indefinite article. Unlike most Romance languages, English has no gender of nouns and so the articles don't change at all.
- Definite article (used when the noun or nouns are already known):
- The
- Indefinite article (used when the noun or nouns is not already known):
- For singular nouns: a
- For singular nouns beginning in a vowel or a silent "h:" an Note that often "a" is used in front of vowels for some words; you will have to learn the exceptions individually.
- For plural nouns, the closest thing to an article would be some.
Remember that an adjective describes a noun. In English, adjectives are always placed before the noun, for example:
- The red apple.
- A soft sheep.
- An angry dragon.
- The silly boys.
- Some hard rocks.
Also, English adjectives do NOT agree with number or gender:
- The red apples, NOT The reds apples
- Some tall women, NOT Some talles women
The exception, however is the adjective "blond", which agrees with gender in writing:
- The blond boy, but;
- The blonde girl.
This is not strictly observed, however. Either "blond" or "blonde" is acceptable, and you are unlikely to be noticed using the feminine form for a male noun or vice versa.
Numbers and Time
This page lists numbers used in English and provides phonetic transcriptions to help you pronounce them.
1 - one /wʌn/
2 - two /tu/
3 - three /θɹi/
4 - four /fɔɹ/
5 - five /faiv/
6 - six /sɪks/
7 - seven /ˈsɛvən/
8 - eight /eit/
9 - nine /nain/
10 - ten /tɛn/
11 - eleven /əˈlɛvən/
12 - twelve /twɛlv/
13 - thirteen /θɚˈtin/
14 - fourteen /fɔɹˈtin/
15 - fifteen /fɪfˈtin/
16 - sixteen /sɪksˈtin/
17 - seventeen /sɛvənˈtin/
18 - eighteen /eiˈtin/
19 - nineteen /nainˈtin/
20 - twenty /ˈtwɛnti/
21 - twenty-one /twɛntiˈwʌn/
30 - thirty /ˈθɚti/
31 - thirty-one /θɚtiˈwʌn/
40 - forty /ˈfɔɹti/
50 - fifty /ˈfɪfti/
60 - sixty /ˈsɪksti/
70 - seventy /ˈsɛvənti/
80 - eighty /ˈeiti/
90 - ninety /ˈnainti/
100 - one hundred /wʌn ˈhʌndrəd/
What time is it?
What is the time?
Do you have the time?
- Chapter 2
Plural forms of nouns
Generally, making plurals (more than 1 of something) is very easy in English.
Plural Formation
For almost all nouns we form the plural by adding s.
- I have an apple
- I have 5 apples.
For nouns which end with the letter y we form the plural by removing the y and adding ies.
- I have a fly
- I have 5 flies.
For nouns which end with the letter s (dress), ch (beach), x (box), sh (bush) or z (quiz), we form the plural by adding es.
- I have a bus.
- I have 5 buses.
There are also a small number of nouns which are very irregular. The first word in the following list is the singular form and the second word is the plural form:
- child - children
- man - men
- woman - women
- foot - feet
- tooth - teeth
- goose - geese
- mouse - mice
- fish - fish
- sheep - sheep
- deer - deer
As you can see, with some words there is no change to form the plural. The plural form and the singular form are exactly the same.
Personal pronouns
English has 6 personal pronouns.
Subject Personal Pronouns
Subject Pronouns are words that replace subject nouns or subject noun phrases.
I - first person singular (yo, eu, je, ich, أنا)
You - second person singular (tú (usted)*, tu (você)*, tu, du, أنت)
He/She/It - third person singular (el/ella, ele/ela, il/elle, er/sie/es, هى/هو)
We - first person plural (nosotros, nós, nous, wir, نحن)
You - second person plural - rarely used (vosotros (ustedes)*, vós (vocês)*, vous, ihr/Sie, انتم\انتن)
They - third person plural (ellos/ellas, eles/elas, ils/elles, sie, هم\هن)
(*) formal
|Subject Pronouns
|Singular (Number)
|Plural (Number)
|First Person
|Second Person
|Third Person
Subject Pronouns replace subject nouns.
Consider these two sentences:
Charles picks flowers from the garden. He picks flowers from the garden.
Charles is a noun. Charlie is also the subject of the sentence
Therefore, Charles is a subject noun. Because Charles is a male personal name, the subject of the sentence is male in gender.
'He is a subject pronoun, describing male nounds. He replaces Charles.
Subject Pronouns replace subject noun phrases.
Consider these two sentences:
* BIRDS FROM CANADA fly south in the winter. * THEY fly south in the winter.
BIRDS FROM CANADA is a noun phrase. BIRDS FROM CANADA is also the subject.
Therefore, BIRDS FROM CANADA is a subject noun phrase.
THEY is a subject pronoun. THEY replaces BIRDS FROM CANADA.
Subject pronouns agree with the PERSON and NUMBER of subject nouns
Pronouns are either FIRST person, SECOND person, or THIRD person.
Pronouns have NUMBER. This means pronouns are either SINGULAR or PLURAL.
Consider these two sentences:
* JOHN AND I went to the movies. * WE saw Spiderman II.
JOHN AND I is the subject.
JOHN AND I is FIRST PERSON.
JOHN AND I is also PLURAL.
WE is the FIRST PERSON, PLURAL subject pronoun. WE replaces JOHN AND I.
Subjects which are third person and singular must agree with the GENDER of the noun as well.
Third Person, SINGULAR Pronouns replace People or Things.
People can be men or women. Men have a MASCULINE GENDER. Women have a FEMININE GENDER.
Things are not people. In English, things usually have NO GENDER (neuter).
Note: ALL third person, PLURAL Pronouns are the same (THEY).
Consider these sentences:
* CINDY ran three miles on the beach. * SHE usually runs five miles.
CINDY is a woman. A woman has a FEMININE GENDER.
Therefore, CINDY is THIRD PERSON, SINGLE, and FEMININE.
SHE is the THIRD PERSON, SINGLE, FEMININE Subject Pronoun. SHE replaces CINDY.
Consider these sentences:
* BOB watched nine hours of television. * HE didn't run three miles on the beach.
BOB is a man. A man has a MASCULINE GENDER.
Therefore, BOB is THIRD PERSON, SINGLE, and MASCULINE.
HE is the THIRD PERSON, SINGLE, MASCULINE Subject Pronoun. HE replaces BOB.
The third person, single pronoun for most non-human (things) nouns or noun phrases is IT.
* THE CAR is very dirty. * IT needs a car wash.
THE CAR is a thing. Things have NO Gender.
Therefore, THE CAR is THIRD PERSON, SINGLE, but NO GENDER.
IT is the THIRD PERSON, SINGLE Subject Pronoun for things with NO GENDER. IT replaces THE CAR.
Never use IT to refer to a person! Use HE if the person is a man. Use SHE if the person is a woman.
If the gender of the person being referred to is unknown or if one wants to refer generically to people, they is often used.
* Whoever THEY were; they did a good job.
Copular verb to be: present tense
'To be' is perhaps the most important verb in the English language. It is known as a 'copular verb'. 'Be' is irregular, so its present tense conjugation must be memorized.
The Present Tense
Here is the present tense conjugation, with their IPA equivalents.
- I am. /æːm/
- You are. /ɑr/
- He is. /ɪz/
- She is. /ɪz/
- It is. /ɪz/
- We are. /ɑr/
- They are. /ɑr/
The forms of to be contract to the pronoun, shown here:
- I'm
- You're
- He's
- She's
- It's
- We're
- They're
These contracted forms are used regularly in speech by native speakers.
Here are some examples.
- I am 36 years old.
- They are hungry.
- Chapter 3
Simple present tense
The present simple tense is usually regular. Yet, there are a few exceptions, particularly with verbs ending in 'y'. Compared to most other Indo-European languages, English regular verbs have simple conjugation, because the first and second person forms are the same.
Regular Verbs
Here is an example of the form of the present simple for regular verbs, using the verb "to like":
- I like football.
- You like football.
- He/She/It likes football.
- We like football.
- They like football.
As you can see from the example above, the infinitive only changes for the 3rd person singular, where an s is added to the end of the word.
Irregular Verbs
English has a large number of irregular verbs, most significantly the verb "to be," which you are learning throughout this textbook. Other verbs conjugate in different ways, including:
- Verbs like can and should do not change in any present conjugation.
- Verbs like try add ies instead of s.
- The verb have use a completely different form in the 3rd person singular, in this case has.
English forms negatives in the Simple Present using not.
The verb to be is special. Here is the negative form for it.
- I am from Canada. - I am not from Canada.
- She is from Finland. - She is not from Finland.
- She is from Finland. - She isn't from Finland
- She is from Finland. - She's not from Finland.
All other verbs use don't (do not) or doesn't (does not) to form negatives:
- I play football. - I do not play football.
- I play football. - I don't play football.
- She likes jazz. - She does not like jazz.
- She likes jazz. - She doesn't like jazz.
We use possessives when we talk about things which are owned by somebody or a direct relation to someone or something. In many languages it is common to talk about possession using a structure like 'object of subject' where the object is owned or possessed by the subject. This is possible in English but it generally sounds unnatural - This is the garden of my mum.
Usually in English we use possessives - This is my mum's garden
Singular Possessives
This is simple. Simply add 's to the end of the noun if the owner or possessor is singular (I only have one mother).
- Tom's pen
- Ross's new house
- Sarah's DVD player
- The dog's dinner (dinner of one dog)
Plural Possessives
If the owner or possessor is plural - i.e. many people own it - then we add the ' after the 's' of the plural noun.
- The dogs' dinner (dinner of many dogs)
- Chapter 4
Simple past tense
The past tense signifies actions that were done in the past. Conjugating verbs to show the past tense is very easy in English, almost as easy as conjugating the present tense.
Past Tense
Regular verbs take the ending '-d' or 'ed' in the affirmative. The negative and interrogative are formed using did (past of the auxiliary verb do) together with the infinitive of the verb. The verb work is conjugated as follows:
|I worked
|you worked
|he worked
|she worked
|it worked
|we worked
|you worked
|they worked
|I did not work
|I didn't work
|you did not work
|you didn't work
|he did not work
|he didn't work
|she did not work
|she didn't work
|it did not work
|it didn't work
|we did not work
|we didn't work
|you did not work
|you didn't work
|they did not work
|they didn't work
|did I work
|did you work
|did he work
|did she work
|did it work
|did we work
|did you work
|did they work
|Negative Interrogative
|did I not work
|didn't I work
|did you not work
|didn't you work
|did he not work
|didn't he work
|did she not work
|didn't she work
|did it not work
|didn't it work
|did we not work
|didn't we work
|did you not work
|didn't you work
|did they not work
|didn't they work
Irregular verbs change their form in the past tense affirmative in a variety of ways. The past of go, for example, is went, of buy, bought, of keep, kept. As with the regular verbs, the negative and interrogative are formed using did together with the infinitive of the verb. The verb go is conjugated in the past tense as follows:
|I went
|you went
|he went
|she went
|it went
|we went
|you went
|they went
|I did not go
|I didn't go
|you did not go
|you didn't go
|he did not go
|he didn't go
|she did not go
|she didn't go
|it did not go
|it didn't go
|we did not go
|we didn't go
|you did not go
|you didn't go
|they did not go
|they didn't go
|did I go
|did you go
|did he go
|did she go
|did it go
|did we go
|did you go
|did they go
|Negative Interrogative
|did I not go
|didn't I go
|did you not go
|didn't you go
|did he not go
|didn't he go
|did she not go
|didn't she go
|did it not go
|didn't it go
|did we not go
|didn't we go
|did you not go
|didn't you go
|did they not go
|didn't they go
External links
- Wiktionary Appendix:Irregular Verbs.
- Verbbusters: Complete set of resources for the study of the irregular verbs.
Introducing prepositions
Prepositions are words which add meaning to a sentence. A preposition can tell you where or when something happens.
Prepositions of place
On, under, above, below, behind, in front of, near, next to, opposite...
Prepositions of time
On, At, In
- I'll meet you at 18.30
- My birthday is in March
- My birthday is on the 2nd of March
Adjective / Verbs with prepositions (dependent prepositions)
Listen to, believe in, worried about, dream of...
- Some Useful Guides and Words
{print entry|School and Education}}
Schoolchildren, also called school kids, do homework. They do not like it. At least, they say that they do not like it. Homework is assignments that children do outside of class. However, sometimes students have time in class to do their homework. When a teacher gives an assignment to do during class it is called class work. Both homework and class work are types of schoolwork.
Sometimes students answer questions in a textbook.
- Teacher: Class, please turn your books to page seventy-one and do questions one through ten. If you don't finish it is homework due tomorrow.
- Teacher: Open your books to chapter three and do every other question on page forty-five. Turn them in on my desk at the end of class.
Other times, homework is doing research and writing a report about something.
- Teacher: Your assignment will be a report about the causes of the US Civil War. It should be ten pages long, typed and double-spaced. Please include a bibliography of at least ten cited works. You may use the Internet. Please look up information in at least three books from the school library. Do not make more than three references to encyclopedias.
Students sometimes do homework together in groups. They call these groups study groups. This is part of the student's sense of humor. This is because many American students prefer to socialize, or talk to their friends, than to do any work. Boys may tend to joke around while girls prefer to gossip about other girls.
Students in all levels of school may have to do homework. However, younger students usually have to do less homework than older students. In high school, some students may have to do several hours of homework a night. Students may do their homework at home or in a library. Another place where kids can work on their homework is in study hall. Study hall is an open period of the day. Students can use study hall to read, do homework, maybe talk with their friends, or make trouble.
Students sometimes complain that homework is boring. Other assignments are more interesting. Homework is hard if it makes you think a lot, and easy if it doesn't make you think much. Americans call things that are easy "a piece of cake". When a student finishes his or her homework he or she might like to relax for a while, go outside or watch some TV.
Other homework assignments may be a reading, math problems, an art project, or filling in answers in a worksheet.
- schoolchildren – niños de la escuela - öğrenci - schüler
- school kids – niños de la escuela - öğrenci - schüler
- homework – tareas - ödev - hausaufgabe
- assignments – tareas (cosas pedidas) - iş,görev - zuweisungen
- class – clase - sınıf - klasse
- students – estudiantes - öğrenci - schüler
- class work – trabajo de clase - sınıf çalışması - klassaufgaben
- schoolwork – trabajo de la escuela - okul çalışması - schulaufgaben
- questions – preguntas, dudas - sorular - fragen
- textbook – libro de texto -ders kitabı - lehrbuch
- due – se debe entregar - yeterli - gerekli - aufgrund
- to turn in – entregar - dönüş - liefernen
- to do research – hacer investigación - araştırma yapmak - erforschen
- to write a report – escribir un reporte - rapor yazmak - einen bericht schreiben
- typed - escrito con máquina çeşit- örnek - typisierte
- double-spaced – con espacio doble (entre líneas de texto) çift ara -
- bibliography – bibliografía kaynak -bibliyografya
- works – obras işler
- information – información bilgi
- books – libros kitaplar
- library – biblioteca kütüphane
- references – referencias danışmalar başvurmalar
- encyclopedias – enciclopedias ansiklopedi
- study groups – grupos de estudio çalışma grubu
- socialize – socializar toplum içine girmek -girişgen
- joke around – hacer bromas şakalaşmak
- gossip – chismear dedikodu
- younger – más jóven çok genç
- older – más grande çok yaşlı
- at home – en casa evde
- study hall – periodio (sala) de estudio çalışma salonu
- open period – periodo abierto bir ders
- read – leer okumak
- make trouble – hacer problemas sorun yaratmak(başbelası)
- complain – quejarse şikayet etmek yakınmak
- boring – aburrido sıkıcı
- interesting – interesante ilginç ilgi çekici
- hard – difícil (duro) zor
- easy – fácil kolay
- think – pensar düşünmek
- a piece of cake – algo fácil, "un pedazo de pastel" bir parça kek
- to finish – terminar bitmek,bitirmek,son
- reading – lectura okuma
- math problems – problemas de matemática matematik problemi
- art project – projecto de arte sanat projesi
- filling in answers – llenando respuestas cevapları doldurma
- worksheet – hoja de trabajo çalıma kağıdı,test
{print entry|Stores, Shopping and Money}}
Telling the Time
Talking about time is important to be able to speak English well but it can be confusing because of different sayings and formats for time in different countries.
For example, in the USA it is very rare for people to use the 24 hour clock (e.g. 18.30) when speaking or writing. The 24 hour clock is often used in the United Kingdom and Ireland but not often in spoken English.
Asking for the time
- What's the time?
- What time is it?
- Do you have the time? / Have you got the time?
Giving the time
- (12.00, 00.00) It's 12 o'clock / It's 12 / It's 12 (o'clock) in the morning / evening
- (12.05, 00.05) It's five past twelve / It's 12 'oh' 5 / It's five past twelve (in the morning/afternoon) / It's five after twelve
Rail Travel
RAIL TRAVEL Buying a train ticket
A young traveller goes up to the ticket office in a Railway Station in England:
- Traveller: "A ticket to Coventry, please."
- Clerk: "Is that a single or a return?"
- Traveller: "A return, please. "
- Clerk: "That's five pounds seventy then."
- (The traveller hands over a ten pound note.)
- The Ticket Clerk takes the money and gives out a two part ticket along with some coins.
- Clerk: "Four pounds thirty is your change. Platform 3, you'd better hurry."
- Traveller: "Thanks"
The young traveller checks his change and hurries off as the Ticket Clerk serves the next passenger.
(Note that the exchange tends to be hurried and clipped. Flowery, extended sentences aren't needed, just the required information, a little courtesy, and a check of the coins and the tickets. Mistakes do happen, especially if you are in a hurry.)
A quick check now can save problems later:
The traveller rushes back to the ticket office, and tries to speak to the same Ticket Clerk:
- Traveller: "Sorry, these tickets say Daventry not Coventry"
- Clerk: "You said Daventry, sir."
- Traveller: "I'm sure I did not. I wanted a ticket to Coventry."
- Clerk: "Let's have a look then."
- (The Clerk takes the tickets back and examines the two pieces of the ticket.)
- Clerk: "OK. Return to Coventry, same fare."
- (The Clerk prints out two new parts to the ticket.)
- Clerk: "Here you go. Coventry, return."
- (The Clerk passes the new ticket back to the Traveller.)
- Traveller: "Thank you very much."
The traveller hurries off again with the correct tickets, just in time to board the train to Coventry.
There are many ways to ask the same question (or be asked):
- "Is this the train to Liverpool?"
- "Is this the train for Liverpool?"
- "Does this train go to Liverpool?"
- "This the Liverpool train?" (notice that the "is" can be left out in general speech)
- "Going to Liverpool?"
- "Liverpool train?"
- "Liverpool?" (although this can be confusing, meaning many things in just one word.)
(Note that some of these sentences are technically incorrect, but are acceptable in general speech. When writing English, outside of character dialogue or quotation, be specific and grammatically correct.)
- Glossary
- Luggage - Bags carried by a passenger. Can be suitcases, backpacks, boxes or any bag.
- Lost Luggage - An office where items that passengers have forgotten are taken.
- Fare - The cost of the ticket.
- Ticket - The token given to a passenger to allow them to travel, showing the cost and destination etc.
- Guard - on British trains, a train company worker checking tickets and keeping passengers safe.
- Change - The money returned to somebody who paid with more than the cost of the transaction.
- Train - A group of carriages rolling along rails, carrying passengers or freight.
- Passenger - A person, usually not counting the driver, riding in a vehicle.
- Return - A type of ticket allowing there and back travel.
- Single - A type of ticket allowing one way travel, that is just to there.
- Destination - another word for the place the train passenger is going to.
External links:
- List of idioms in the English language
- Resources (online grammar tests, handouts, video-based exercises) for ESL students
- Vocabulary exercises for beginners
- ESL Resources including Lesson Plans, Worksheets, Handouts and Games
- Grammar and Vocabulary for ESL Students
- English Exercises Online
- Exercises and handouts for beginners
- Activities for ESL Students
- English Club, a free site for students and teachers.
- valodas Free language learning software.
- Ruler of the Wall -- A game designed to run in the background of a classroom to encourage writing and dialog.
- Idiom Connections


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North Jersey towns unite in effort to lower utility bills
A growing contingent of North Jersey municipalities is looking to use the power in numbers to cut residents' utility bills through large-scale purchasing programs that promise better electricity prices.
At least 15 municipalities in the region are at various stages of adopting the programs, which advocates say allow them to pool the buying power of residents as a way of lowering their bills.
Residents in municipalities that approve the programs are automatically enrolled and must notify their borough or city halls if they want to withdraw and stay with traditional utility companies like Public Service Electric and Gas or Jersey Central Power & Light.
Officials say the programs promise to save the average homeowner $80 to $120 over a year's time.
The programs use a 2003 state law that lets municipalities effectively take over energy purchasing for residents when market conditions are favorable. Local officials started pursuing the law last year when energy-price trends began working for the idea after years when they did not.
"The impetus behind it is to try to find a way to save residents, as well as businesses, money. It's power in numbers," said Michael Capobianco, borough manager in Little Ferry, the first municipality in Bergen and Passaic counties to seek bids from energy suppliers. Borough residents are expected to start getting lower-priced power this year.
"If we can take 10 percent off someone's energy bill over the course of a year, it's fantastic," Capobianco said.
In North Jersey, that kind of reduction would lower the average bill by about $9 a month for residential customers who buy their power from PSE&G, by $7 for JCP&L's and $10 for those served by Rockland Electric.
Among the entities considering the idea, called energy aggregation, are a consortium of boroughs in eastern Bergen County including Tenafly, Dumont and Closter, as well as Haledon, Paterson and a cluster of other Passaic County communities that may band together under their own umbrella group. They have joined Newark, Jersey City and dozens of other municipalities across the state at various stages of the process.
Energy aggregation is not without critics. In some places, residents and officials have raised concerns about local government controlling electricity purchases or about surprise fees and rate hikes hidden in the fine print of contracts with suppliers.
In the Morris County township of Parsippany-Troy Hills, for example, the council put the plan on hold after residents criticized it as an undue intrusion into their lives.
The whole movement could also end up short-lived if market conditions turn around again.
But officials in the first New Jersey communities with aggregation in place, Toms River and Plumstead townships in Ocean County, say it has worked well so far. They note that contracts with suppliers set prices for fixed lengths of time and allowed residents to pull out of the program at any time and return to traditional suppliers.
"We were a little nervous about doing it, being the first," said Dave Leutwyler, mayor of Plumstead, which started the program in January 2013. "We were afraid of pitfalls. But there were none. It was worth doing. I'd rather have the $150 in my pocket than pay higher electric bills."
Initial success has pushed the idea "beyond infancy," said Bob Chilton, a consultant helping about 20 towns throughout New Jersey with energy aggregation.
He added, "The amount of interest we've gotten has increased dramatically in the last six months."
The program uses a law adopted after the state deregulated its energy market in 1999, ending regional utility monopolies and allowing multiple power suppliers to compete for customers through better pricing, much like stores.
The aggregation law allows towns to go to suppliers and act as a buying agent for blocks of residents in exchange for the best price. Municipalities first must adopt a local ordinance and pick a supplier through a bidding process. Although residents are automatically enrolled, businesses can join the program if they want to.
Deregulation freed individual homeowners and businesses from having to buy their power from the big utility companies, and about 15 percent in New Jersey do.
Aggregation contracts, which are reviewed by state regulators, typically last for 12 to 18 months and bar the kind of extra charges that have occurred after some suppliers have enticed individuals with low introductory offers, officials say.
Customers still are billed by traditional utility companies that own the power distribution systems, including PSE&G, but see a reduced rate for the charges covering electric supply. Consultants helping towns put together aggregation programs are paid a fee by energy suppliers chosen in the bidding process instead of billing towns or residents for their services.
Concern about unexpected price hikes and other loopholes under aggregation is "a very common scenario that we've encountered," said Chilton, vice president of Gabel Associates in Highland Park, which provides consulting services on energy-related issues. "But when a municipality is running it, the contract terms are very ironclad and there is no room for funny business on the part of suppliers."
Stefanie Brand, who heads a state agency that reviews aggregation contracts for adherence to state law, said there were a "lot of protections" in the approval process.
"But you have to be very careful," said Brand, director of the state Division of the Rate Counsel, which advocates for consumers in utility matters ranging from rate increases proposals to solar energy projects. "Towns have to make sure there are sufficient protections to make sure people continue to get certain prices."
Aggregation is gaining steam because of recent market conditions that have seen prices for natural gas decline, as opposed to the initial years after it was adopted, when prices were rising.
The reason is that natural gas fuels electricity-generating power plants in New Jersey. When gas prices rise, that increases the cost of producing power, which, in turn, boosts prices that companies pay for wholesale electricity they then transmit to retail residential and business customers. Those forces keep new power suppliers from entering the market because of long-term contracts that give traditional suppliers, like PSE&G, an advantage.
The trend flipped, and new companies jumped into the market when natural gas prices began falling in 2009. They can use those lower prices to offer better deals, especially to large numbers of users.
"You are looking at the buying power for 3,000 properties instead of one," said Capobianco, the Little Ferry official.
Beyond Little Ferry, members of a consortium of Bergen County communities that jointly buys municipal government services like emergency water main repairs and street repaving are in the "early stages" of exploring the idea, said Joe di Giacomo, executive director of the group, known as Riverside Cooperative. After meeting with Chilton last month, the group asked his firm to develop a proposal for proceeding, he said.
In Passaic County, Haledon, Woodland Park and Wayne have adopted ordinances that would add their residents to an existing county-run program that currently buys power for municipal and public school buildings, according to Vicki Molloy of Concord Engineering, a firm in Voorhees that manages the program. Paterson has also adopted an ordinance and is considering joining the county program, while other municipalities are studying the idea.
"It would make more sense for the county to do this," said Paterson City Council President Andre Sayegh, who introduced that city's ordinance. "People need relief, and this is a way to provide it. The driving force is to drive down the rates."
Whether aggregation will spread across the state is uncertain, especially if market forces turn and older utilities can again offer the best prices, said Frank Felder, director of the Rutgers University Center for Energy, Economic & Environmental Policy.
"Is it going to significantly change the power industry in New Jersey? No." Felder said. "And if two years from now the cost of power increases, people could go back to traditional utilities."
But in the meantime, he said, "the winners are the retail customers. The savings are small, but real."
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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University Challenge results, 2009
Corpus Christi, Oxford thus became the seventh Oxford team to win the series since it returned in 1994. Sam Kay (Chemistry), Lauren Schwartzman (Ancient History), Gail Trimble (Latin Literature) and James Marsden (Ancient and Modern History) received the trophy from poet Wendy Cope.
However, six days after the final was broadcast, the Observer printed a story alleging that one of Corpus Christi's team was ineligible. Sam Kay, a student at Corpus Christi until June 2008, had graduated and was working as an accountant during the academic year 2008-9, and the BBC in consultation with Granada decided to disqualify Corpus Christi, awarding the trophy to the losing finalists instead, citing the rule that "students taking part must be registered at their university or college for the duration of the recording of the series".
The official winners of the 2008-9 series were thus Manchester, who consisted of Henry Pertinez (Pharmaco-kinetics), Reuben Roy (Medicine), Matthew Yeo (History of the book), Simon Baker (Politics and Modern History).
The show had already been receiving a huge amount of coverage before the final took place, primarily due to Corpus Christi's superb captain, so the links above are only a selection of the articles. Try this Google news search for many more.
It was a record-breaking series all in all; there were five new additions to the high-score table, four new additions to the low-score table, and an incredible seven winning margins of over 200 points. Finally, Corpus beat my own team's record for total points, amassing 1510 points in their five games. How will the next series follow that?...
But then the series has already entered the record books for other reasons. The flames of allegations of an ineligible contestant, were willingly fanned by the press to result in the inevitable disqualification.
As a former Cambridge student and member of the last Cambridge team to win the series, I've had to endure seven Oxford victories since, each time hoping that a Cambridge college would bring the trophy back again. So surely, I'd delight in Corpus' demise?
No, and I believe the BBC have made the wrong decision.
"Rules are rules", stated Paxman following the decision, and so they are. The rule that dictates that a contestant must be a member of the institution they represent at the time of application and the following year has been consistently in place since I was on in 1995. Recent contestants have pointed out that the rules they sign say nothing about the year after applying, so if nothing else there is a lack of clarity. But for the sake of the show, the onus has to be on the producers to check the applicants' credentials rigorously, and if a team is accepted then the result on the night should stand.
Still, I understand why the BBC had to act, and it will at least ensure the rule is strictly adhered to in the future, levelling the playing field somewhat. It just jars a little that this clearly would have blown over were the show not already in the news for different reasons.
Which brings me to the saddest part of the tale; the fact that Corpus' series-winning achievements may now be forgotten, as they officially never took place. They scored more points in total than any other team have in the modern era, and gave some of the most impressive displays that have been seen recently. And Gail Trimble's personal tally of 15 starters in the quarter final is a feat that may never be beaten.
So the 2009 series will be remembered for the wrong reasons, but it will return. The fact that the show incites this kind of public reaction shows that there is a place for it in the schedules for many years to come.
Please note this is my personal website, and is in no way affiliated to the BBC or the producers of the show. All the views herein are my own.


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The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology - Volume 2 - Vocal Duet
To play the media you will need to update yourFlash plugin.
Duets Book/2 CDs Pack. Edited by Richard Walters. Vocal Collection. Play Along. Softcover book and accompaniment CD. 240 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.492).
Item Number: HL.492
ISBN 1423423739. 9x12 inches.
The world's most trusted source for great theatre literature for singing actors. The CDs include piano accompaniments. The book features authentic editions of each song in the original keys. The songs have been carefully chosen for each voice type and are culled from a wide selection of classic and contemporary shows.


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[Video] A Closer Look at Kim Soo Hyun's Steamy Kiss Scene with Jun Ji Hyun
The Thieves has been smashing box office records left and right, and we're thinking the steamy kiss scene between actors Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun has a little something to do with it.
TvN's enews recently aired the scene as well as a short interview clip featuring Kim Soo Hyun.
Is it just us or does the actor, who clearly has no trouble taking the lead in the kiss scene, appear adorably awkward talking about it?
If you haven't seen the film yet, here's what you're missing out on.
- Tag
- Kim Soo Hyun 20120808 The Thieves 20120808 Jun Ji Hyun 20120808


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Dear Jhem,
The model of T400 I have is 2768-AA6.
I have some questions on the switchable graphic card function:
1.Under device manager are we suppose to see two GPU installed or just the active one? I can only see the active one. But most ppl around me who have T400 can see both two GPU. Is there anything wrong with my machine?
2. The automatic hot switchable function is not available at all. I remember the switchable function is that when we use battery the computer can choose integrated graphic card while when we use AC adaptor the computer can switch to discrete graphic automatically. However, no mater what power source I use to power up the computer, the integrated graphic card is selected. The only way I can use ATI graphic card is get into BIOS----->disable switchable function------->select discrete graphic card and then restart computer.
Are these common problem for T400? They make me very unhappy as the most attractive function of this model cannot be use at all.
Thanks a lot!
Anyone can help?


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Miners Capture 11-3 Victory Over Santa Clara in Season Opener
Feb. 9, 2012
El Paso, Texas - The UTEP softball team opened their season with a victory against Santa Clara in a five-inning game. The Miners run-ruled the Broncos, 11-3, winning on a run scoring single from Camilla Carrera in the bottom of the fifth.
Cynthia Villastrigo pitched all five innings for the Miners giving up three runs on four hits. Villastrigo faced 24 batters striking out six and walking seven.
Chelsea Troupe got the Miners scoring started on a lead-off home run in the bottom of the first inning off Santa Clara starter Carissa Theis. Kayleigh Walts reached on a walk and scored on a wild pitch and Ashley Collazo brought Carrera home on a sac-fly to left field to give UTEP an early 3-0 advantage.
With Walts on base Colleen Hohman blasted a two-run home run in the second inning. Carrera followed suit with a solo shot to center field.
Santa Clara's Jamie Wallis put the Broncos on the board with a solo home run to left field in the third inning. Breezy Bernard drove in Stephanie Fisher and Briana Knight scored on a wild pitch for the Bronco's.
Courtney Ware doubled down the left field line off of relief pitcher Jaymi Bautista driving in Collazo and Samantha Alvillar in the bottom of the third inning. Ware picked up her team-leading third RBI in the fourth inning when she was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Collazo scored on a wild pitch in the same frame.
The Miners were leading 10-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth with the opportunity to end the game with one run. Hohman batting second in the inning doubled to left field and was replaced by pinch runner Ashley Eldridge. Carrera came up to bat and promptly drove in the game-winning run.
The Miners scored in every inning of the game scoring their 11 runs off of 10 hits. UTEP will travel to Las Cruces, N.M. to partake in the Hotel Encanto Invitational starting on Friday. They will face St. Mary's (MD) on Friday at 11:00 a.m.
- Men's Sports
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Inside Athletics
- Inside Athletics
- 1966 National Champions
- Athletic Training
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- Compliance
- Core Purpose and Vision Statement
- Director of Athletics
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- Facilities
- General News
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- Fan Zone
- Donate Now
- Online Store


text:
Popular property highlights
Located in Disney's Maingate East, Days Inn Kissimmee West is within a 10-minute stroll of sights such as Osceola Square Mall and Shingle Creek Regional Park. This 51-room hotel has free breakfast along with conveniences like an outdoor pool and free in-room WiFi. It's in the historical district and also a short walk from 192 Flea Market and Florida Technical College.
Free continental breakfast is served each morning from 7:30 AM to 10:30 AM.
All 51 shared accommodations feature kitchenettes and space to spread out with living rooms. Guests can expect TVs with satellite channels, along with free WiFi and wired Internet. Bathrooms offer deep soaking tubs, hair dryers, and free toiletries. Sofa beds, coffee makers, and free local calls are also standard.
Renovated in 2016, Days Inn Kissimmee West offers an outdoor pool, free WiFi in public areas, and a meeting room. If you drive, put free parking to good use. The 24-hour front desk has multilingual staff ready to assist with sightseeing, directions, and local dining recommendations. Additional amenities include express check-in and a TV in a common area.
Property features
- Free continental breakfast
- Free WiFi and wired Internet in rooms and public areas
- Free parking
- Outdoor pool
HighlightsInformation missing or incorrect? Tell us!Opens in a new window
Days Inn Kissimmee West
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
A complimentary breakfast is offered each morning. Wired and wireless Internet access is complimentary. This business-friendly hotel also offers an outdoor pool, multilingual staff, and express check-in. Onsite self parking is complimentary.
Days Inn Kissimmee West is a smoke-free property.
- 24-hour front desk
- Free breakfast
- Express check-in
- Free WiFi
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- One meeting room
- Multilingual staff
- Number of floors - 2
- Total number of rooms - 51
- Free self parking
- Smoke-free property
- Number of buildings/towers - 1
- Outdoor pool
- Television in common areas
Family Friendly Amenities
- Family Hotel
- Outdoor pool
- Separate living room
- Free Wi-Fi
- Kitchenette
- Sofa bed
- Refrigerator
- Microwave
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi , Free wired high-speed Internet
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi , Free wired high-speed Internet
Free self parking
Room Amenities
Days Inn Kissimmee West offers 51 shared accommodations, which are air-conditioned, accessible via exterior corridors, and feature coffee/tea makers and hair dryers. Accommodations have separate living rooms and are furnished with double sofa beds. Televisions come with satellite channels. Kitchenettes offer refrigerators and microwaves. Bathrooms include shower/tub combinations with deep soaking bathtubs and complimentary toiletries.
Guests can surf the web using the complimentary wired and wireless Internet access. Business-friendly amenities include desks along with free local calls (restrictions may apply). Additionally, rooms include irons/ironing boards and blackout drapes/curtains. Housekeeping is provided daily.
- Access via exterior corridors
- Air conditioning
- Free local calls
- Coffee/tea maker
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Deep soaking bathtub
- Satellite TV service
- Television
- Desk
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Iron/ironing board
- Shared accommodations
- Kitchenette
- Free WiFi
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- Separate living room
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Microwave
- Refrigerator
- Separate sitting area
- Shower/tub combination
- Sofa bed
- Sofa bed size
Where to Eat
A complimentary continental breakfast is served each morning between 7:30 AM and 10:30 AM.
Nearby Things to Do
Recreational amenities at the hotel include an outdoor pool.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Golfing nearby
- Water skiing nearby
- Golf lessons available nearby
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- Roll-in shower
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 3:00 PM
Minimum check-in age is 21
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Kids stay free! Up to 10 children 1 years old and younger stay free when using existing bedding.
- Pets not allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
- The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation.
No rollaway/extra beds available
No cribs (infant beds) available
Hotel Name
- Days Inn Kissimmee West Hotel
- Inn Oak Plantation Kissimmee
- Oak Inn Plantation
- Oak Plantation
- Oak Plantation Inn
- Oak Plantation Kissimmee
- Plantation Oak
- Days Inn Kissimmee West Motel
- Days Inn Kissimmee West
- Inn At Oak Plantation Hotel Kissimmee
- The Inn At Oak Plantation
We should mention
Up to 10 children 1 years old and younger stay free when occupying the parent or guardian's room, using existing bedding.
Awards & Affiliations
- The property is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts.


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What do you reckon to cutting the trumpet off that leads to the airbox inside the corrugated bit to aid airflow into engine?
It looks quite restrictive!
What do you reckon to cutting the trumpet off that leads to the airbox inside the corrugated bit to aid airflow into engine?
It looks quite restrictive!
Be pointless as Diesels don't work like that, they get plenty of air which is regulated.
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Petrols have a regulated amount of air too - Tell me more?
I understand Diesels have no throttle body to regulate airflow, but the reason I ask this is coming from being a VAG man.
The PD160 mod is well talked about in Seat circles. Basically installing the larger flow trumpet from the 160hp TDI engine to lesser models.
If you whip the front top cover off, you will see under the concertina pipe that the actual intake pipe that leads into the air filter is very very small in comparison to the size of the hole it could be!
Yep, with a petrol engine, when you change the intake, you get more air in, and the ECU is forced to add more fuel to keep it at the correct air/fuel ratio, otherwise it won't burn or run lean and hot.
Diesels on the other hand don't mind too much about air/fuel ratios, they'll burn what they are given and they are at the equivalent of wide open throttle at all times.
If the engine is idling or cruising, it'll take in a full W.O.T load of air, but only inject a small amount of diesel, just as much as it needs.
The airfilters are hugely oversized as they are constantly filtering huge amounts of air compared to a petrol and in most cases, there's so many different controls that the engine will always make the power requested by increasing boost or injection to get the same torque as before.
As a result of this, you don't often see any induction kits for diesels, and even something like changing to a bigger turbo doesn't really show great improvements as it will be set to make "x" bar of boost with whatever equipment it has to hand.
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Described by SF Weekly as a "collision of Django Reinhardt and David Grisman," Taarka is the new acoustic "supergroup" (Flagstaff Live) "presenting masterfully deep americana and gypsyjazz string band music!" Led by the husband-and-wife team of David Pelta-Tiller (mandolin, tenor guitar, vocals) and Enion Pelta-Tiller (five-string violin, vocals) Taarka is filled out by a rotating cast of masterful musicians on guitar.
David, a versatile picker raised in Virginia on a steady diet of bluegrass, Celtic, classical and gypsyjazz, and Enion Pelta-Tiller, an award-winning classically-trained violinist who can switch seamlessly between Bartók and bebop (not to mention Gypsy jazz, punk, rock, bluegrass) began their journey together in 2001 as a Gypsy jazz busker act in the New York City subway before hitting the road as Taarka.
Taarka balances between singer songwriting and instrumentals these days, expending on its beginnings as a purely instrumental string band putting a modern spin on Gypsy and Eastern European folk music. Taarka has drawn from wide-ranging influences over the past 10 years. Sophisticated listeners would be able to distill flavors of Western and Eastern folk traditions, jazz, rock, bluegrass, old-time, gypsy, Indian, and Celtic music all in a string band setting. Taarka has lately been gaining notice for their songwriting, which is informed by traditional bluegrass, oldtime and folk from America and Europe, 19th century poetry, and singer-songwriter elements.
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Folk Life Defined
... what is Folklife? The easiest way to explain is to take the word apart. Folk = People. Life = Music, at least for the folks involved in Folklife. The Humboldt Folklife Society is a group of dedicated volunteers who love music, mostly folk music, but certainly not exclusively...


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(AMMON) – The city of Ammon is trying to play catch up with its trash disposal operation. Local News 8 reports that both of the city's garbage trucks broke down, making garbage day a little later than expected this week. City officials hope to have things back up and running soon. In the mean time, trash pickup with other city trucks is expected to run through Saturday.
Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com
Stephan Rockefeller, EastIdahoNews.com
Carrie Snider, EastIdahoNews.com
Natalia Hepworth, EastIdahoNews.com


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music / Columns
The 8 Ball 12.29.12: Top 8 Worst Albums of 2012
Welcome, one and all, to the 8 Ball in the Music Zone! I'm your host Jeremy Thomas and as always, I will be tackling a topic and providing you the top eight selections of that particular category. Keep in mind that this list is meant to be my personal opinion and not a definitive list. You're free to disagree; you can even say my list is wrong, but stating that an opinion is "wrong" is just silly. With that in mind, let's get right in to it!
Before you start reading, have you bookmarked 411Mania.com yet? It's the easiest thing in the world to do, and it'll get you your daily dose of entertainment news that much quicker! Typing the URL out in the address bar is such a pain, don'tcha think? Hell, make it your home page and it'll be that much easier for you!
Also, do you Twitter? If not, you should! And while you're at it, add these to your list of people that you follow so that you can get the latest updates!
Follow @411mania
Follow @411wrestling
Follow @411moviestv
Follow @411moviestv
Follow @411games
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Caveat: All you had to do in order to qualify for this list was release an EP or LP in the year 2012 within the United States, and do a poor job at it. Pretty straight-forward.
Our Lady Peace – Curve
Justin Bieber – Believe
Ed Sheeran – +
Sleigh Bells – Reign of Terror
15. Van Halen – A Different Kind of Truth
14. Train – California 37
13. The Wanted – The Wanted
12. No Doubt – Push & Shove
11. Owl City – The Midsummer Station
10. 2 Chainz – Based on a T.R.U. Story
9. Rihanna – Unapologetic
Of all the albums I placed on my "Worst of" list for this year, this one hurts the most. I mean, it seriously cuts deep. I am a big fan of Southern Rock and grew up with a deep love for the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. "Simple Man," "Gimme Two Steps," "Freebird"…these songs are an inseparable part of the soundtrack of my youth. So when I heard that Skynyrd was releasing an album this year, their first since 2009's Gods and Guns, I was excited. I wanted to get some good, solid classic-sounding Southern rock to listen this year. Instead, I got this album. Now, it goes without saying that Skynyrd hasn't particularly been at the forefront of the music scene for some time. Gods and Guns hit the top 20 on the Billboard 200 but it didn't stay there long and it was the first to have done so since the band's infamous plane crash that claimed the lives of Ronnie Van Zant and Steve and Cassie Gaines in 1977. But barely slipping an LP into the top 15 for a mere week (like Dyin' Breed did) is not worth what they did with their sound. Much of Dyin' Breed just comes off as depressing. Johnny Van Zant is a capable singer and the band is all fantastic, but this album sounds like a vaguely more authentic version of what Nickelback does. Let me say that again: Lynyrd Skynyrd has turned into a Nickelback for the retro-loving crowd. Don't believe me? Just listen to "Homegrown" above and tell me if it sounds more like the legendary act who gave us "That Smell" or the group who got booed in their hometown NFL halftime show because of songs like "Burn it to the Ground." There are moments on Dyin' Breed, such as on the title track or the second track "One Day at a Time," when Skynyrd seems like it is about to break free and show us why they're one of the icons of Southern rock. Unfortunately those moments are few and far between. Nickelback can get away with being Nickelback because no one expects better of them. Lynyrd Skynyrd doesn't get that luxury; they've shown us too much to regress like this.
There are people that argue that it is completely unfair to hate on Chris Brown as an artist because of his well-known personal and legal issues. They say that his domestic assault case on Rihanna has nothing to do with his music, nor do his constant outbursts in the media or on his Twitter account that display violent anger issues, homophobia and misogyny. That is a sentiment that I agree with 100%. Unlike Rihanna, Brown doesn't tend to bring his personal life into his music, with the exception of his appearance on "Nobody's Business" on her album. He tries to distance himself professionally from his personal life, and so when it comes to his music I don't take any gossip fodder into account. Then why am I ranking his album as the seventh-worst of 2012? Quite simply, because it is the worst R&B album of the year. Now, let's be clear here; Brown has never been a musical genius by any stretch. He has a solid R&B voice that fits well on club-oriented R&B tracks. The problem comes when he buries that voice, his only asset as a musician, underneath so many layers of production that it is rendered inert. Whether you look at his singles like "Turn Up the Music" and "Don't Wake Me Up" or album tracks like "Mirage," Brown has never seemed more superfluous to his own music. In what world does a guy like Chris Brown feel the need to Auto-Tune his voice? And it gets worse when you consider tracks like the execrable "Bassline" in which he decides it's more fun to sing flat-out poorly and mix it in with rap. If all of that wasn't enough, you also have some of the worst lyrics of the year. Exhibits A, B and C: "Get butt naked to my bassline," "Can you feel my submarine?" and "I've got that pillow for you, baby, right here / Can you make it disappear?" The prosecution rests.
Last week I had The Wanted at the middle of the first part of this list, calling them "one-half of the tail-end of the latest bubblegum pop trend." This is the other–and frankly, far worse–half. At least The Wanted can approach inoffensively bad at times. One Direction, an unholy alliance of commercialism and ratings that was formed out of The X Factor UK in 2010, never even rises above ear-splittingly awful. They have half the singing skill of The Wanted and no amount of Auto-Tune can fix that fact; they are so digitally manipulated that you can actively hear it in many tracks. While Up All Night was technically first released in 2011 in the UK, it didn't make its way to the US until March of this year and it was quickly followed up by a second studio album, Take Me Home, that hit worldwide in November. Both albums are so mind-numbingly terrible that I literally couldn't distinguish between them and kind of consider them to be two parts of a double album straight from the fiery depths of pop hell where a red-skinned, horned Simon Cowell reigns supreme. These five guys seem very nice, but as a musical act they are completely without merit. You could have achieved the exact same result by pairing any random five good-looking UK guys together and turning the production value up to the point that tweens wouldn't be able to realize what they're paying for. For once I'm actually pulling for Taylor Swift to really carry through with a relationship as she's gotten involved with Harry Styles, one of the guys in the group. My hope is that she pulls a Yoko and the most toxic British pop invasion salvo of all time breaks up.
I almost feel like hating this album doesn't need explanation, but I'll give it anyway. Listen, Ke$ha is what she is. I have said it before and I will say it again; I think that she is a lot smarter than she lets on. She clearly understands exactly how the music industry and pop culture works, and she is adept at playing the game. Unfortunately, that doesn't make her music tolerable. There were songs off Animal and even Cannibal that I had very, very mild affinities for, though not enough to outweigh how much I disliked the rest of the albums. On Warrior there is no such saving grace. One of her defenders a while back claimed that there is little in the way of Auto-Tune on this album, and that is true. It doesn't mean that she sings well; it just means that she doesn't try and fix it up. Instead she does her irritating sing-rap over songs that are almost direct rip-offs of other songs not even a year old. Her much-discussed collaboration with Iggy Pop is a half-assed effort on both of their parts; it feels like it could have been something if they had actually tried. The rest of the album is filled with aural crimes like "Warrior" or "Die Young." The crowning achievement of the album though–its ultimate nadir–is "Supernatural." This is the song in which she gets down with a ghost…yes, you read that right, I'm not making it up. With an irritating, generic beat and a musical track that sounds like something akin to bees being put through a blender, she hacks up lyrics like "Come, take me in the night/I feel it in my blood/Want the darker side/Baby, when we touch/Look me in my eyes/Poison me with love/I'll bring you back to life." Unless I'm misinterpreting this incorrectly, she is implying that her genitals, like the mythological Black Cauldron, have abilities of resurrection. Yeah, anyone wanna question why this is on the list now? Didn't think so.
Nicki Minaj buried the lead on Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. By that I mean she starts off with what is quite possibly the second-worst track on an already-terrible album. "Roman Holiday" was debuted to the world at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in February in one of the most bizarre and awful live performances that ceremony has ever seen (and that's saying something). The studio version isn't quite as bad, if only because it doesn't feature the wacky Exorcist rip-off segment. It still has Minaj rapping in a variety of terrible accents that make her borderline unintelligible for most of the track…probably a good thing, since lyrics like "Had to put the pressure to every thug I knew/Quack quack to a duck and a chicken too" are best not when not actually heard. I wish I could say it goes drastically up from that track but the truth of the matter is that while the rest of the album is indeed an improvement, that doesn't make it anything even remotely approaching good. Minaj either alternates between her attempts to capture the breakout success of her poppy "Super Bass" with "Starships" and "Right By My Side"–both annoying in the extreme–and her bizarre attempts to channel alter ego Roman. It is a concept album in which she doesn't commit to the concept for the full length, which even ruins any value it had on that respect. Meanwhile we have two of the worst songs of the year in "Beez in the Trap" and "Stupid Hoe," the latter of which tops out "Holiday" for worst track on a truly awful album. Minaj has shown us that she has talent, but unfortunately nothing she did in 2012 supports that notion.
Some people were shocked when I rated Global Warming as poorly as I did upon its release in November. They said that I was taking the album too seriously and that it was a "party rap album" and that I should take it as such instead of being critical. Party rap album it may be, but it was a pretty terrible one. A single song here or there from the Miami-based rapper is perhaps acceptable when it falls along the lines of "Give Me Everything" or "Feel This Moment," the latter of which is off this album. Hearing him do one song about being "Mr. Worldwide" and discussing all the countries he goes to and all the clubs he's ruling is fine in radio rotation. But a full album needs to have some sort of variance and not just focus on the same story again and again. Even with that complaint aside, I don't know anyone who can defend crap like "Don't Stop the Party" which is a nigh-unlistenable combination of overdone club beats and lyrics so generic as to sound like they're being repeated over and over again. Pitbull isn't being a legitimate rapper on this track; he's just putting a puzzle together made up of beats and themes. That's not a song, and this isn't an album. I don't care how much of a club rapper you are; thinking that lines like "I want your tchu tcha tcha tchu tchu tcha/tchu tcha tcha tchu tchu tcha" add up to actual lyrics is laughable, much like most of this album.
When I did my worst songs of 2012, someone commented and said that I must not be a big fan of rap music. I would counter that no one who enjoys Something 'Bout Kreay and the tracks contained within should be commenting on other people's tastes in music. Relax, I'm being somewhat joking about that. You can like whatever you want to like; just don't expect me to understand why someone would like this unlistenable LP. Kreayshawn appeal as a musical artist is baffling to me. Once you get past the "white girl rapping" aspect, there is nothing of value here. Throw any aspect of her music at me and I just can't see anything of quality. Her nasally voice is like nails on a chalkboard and she has a lazy flow to her rhymes. Her lyrics are lazy in the extreme, coming across as little more than word salad most of the time. Some have praised the production value and I don't get that; it sounds like bargain basement-level production which may be the intent. If their intent truly was to sound like cheap trash, then they accomplished it. Whether you're looking at her irritating breakout hit "Gucci Gucci," her embarrassingly bad "Breakfast" with 2 Chainz, her attempt to emulate Eminem with "Left Ey3" or any other track on this album, I don't honestly see how you can give it a pass.
The fall of Queensryche was one of the most depressing stories of 2012 for me. A once-great band who produced some of the my favorite hard rock of the late 1980s through the early 1990s exploded this year when their lead singer, Geoff Tate, had what can only be described as a meltdown of Sheen-esque proportions. He physically fought with his bandmates, trashed an audience during a live set and not long after was fired from the group along with his wife Susan, who was acting as manager. A very ugly legal battle ensued that has still not been resolved, with both sides claiming the rights to the Queensryche name. Tate also released this album, which is not only the worst album of the year but one of the worst albums by a major artist that I have ever heard. Tate's voice has never sounded worse than it does here; he sounds largely like a complete mockery of his earlier work. This may be why, instead of singing his way through the whole album, he turns to rap on one of the tracks. Yes, you heard that right. Geoff Tate RAPS. Or rather, he does a pale imitation of Kid Rock, right down to the "Can I get a mic check?" at one point.
And if the concept of Geoff Tate pulling his own little half-assed attempt rapcore doesn't turn you off, don't worry…he's not done there. He plumps the lowest depths of music such as turning words into letters for song titles in "Say U Luv It," in which he gets down and dirty–by which I mean, disgustingly creepy–and intones hilariously bad lyrics like "Would you like something thick?" and "Would you take my pain/Take the pain." It is meant to be sexy; instead, it sounds like the kind of song that Buffalo Bill would write. And the rest of the album follows suit. The whole thing feels like a fifty-two minute and something-odd second attempt to troll fans. I can't come up with any other explanation.
One of my favorite YouTube acts is the Barely Political/Key of Awesome guys, who have been skewering pop music for quite a while now. Here they present an explanation of what's wrong with Ke$ha more brilliantly than I ever could with their mocking of "Die Young":
And that will do it for us this week! Join me next week for another edition of the 8-Ball! Until then, have a good week and don't forget to read the many other great columns, news articles and more here at 411wrestling.com! JT out.


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By Rukhsana Ayyub, ChildFund U.S. Program National Director
I remember the cool morning breeze as I stepped outside on that late August day. It reminded me that fall was around the corner. After the 100-degree days we'd had in Memphis during the summer, it was a welcome relief. I was looking forward to the change of season.
Leaves on the trees were showing early signs of changing colors. Stores were advertising back-to-school sales; those who could afford it were packing the local Wal-Mart, getting ready for the start of another school year. I was pleased that many of our U.S. program's local partner organizations across Oklahoma, Mississippi and South Dakota were holding back-to-school events and providing backpacks and school supplies for enrolled children whose families could not afford to purchase these necessities.
On that beautiful day, I called my area office in South Dakota, just a routine Monday morning check-in. Billie's voice was quiet, not her usual excited tone. "What is it?" I asked. A 10-year-old tried to commit suicide in the Pine Ridge reservation over the weekend, she said. Although this child was not enrolled in a ChildFund program, it was a grim reminder that suicide season was approaching, Billie added.
Suicide season. Whoever came up with such a horrific, unnatural name, I wonder. But then I recalled the even more unnatural fact that it's the large number of teens and children taking their lives that give Native American communities the highest suicide rates in the country. America is known the world over as the land of hope and opportunity. However, on the reservations, we have children who are not excited for the start of a new school year, Christmas or another birthday. They are choosing instead to end their lives.
Community consultations conducted by ChildFund on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation revealed high incidences of alcohol and other substance abuse, depression and feelings of hopelessness in households, along with a disconnection from cultural values and beliefs.
To counter these negative factors, ChildFund supports programs that promote children's social skills and emotional health. We also encourage families and other community members to protect and nurture their children by preserving traditional Lakota values. After all, this is a culture that considers children sacred and gives them beautiful names like Little Big Thunder, Little Arrow and Blue Robin, connecting them to nature.
Our programs in Lakota communities include information on suicide prevention and support resources for both parents and children. However, each new suicide or attempt is a reminder of the enormity of the problem and the work that still lies ahead.
ChildFund seeks to empower children and bring families closer together. On that August day – and every day – I voice my wish for every Lakota mother: Hold on tight to your child. To the children and youth, I say: Give life a chance; embrace the new school year waiting for you, Thanksgiving, the first snow of the winter.
And to my colleagues hurt by witnessing this trauma, and the responsibility it carries: Don't give up hope. Seasons change, and even this dreaded season will pass. Our work for these children continues.
Learn more about ChildFund's U.S. program and how to sponsor a child.


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For those who seek excellence in design, quality, appearance, originality, and value……. IS-2 has the cabinetry solutions for you! Come experience the difference for yourself!


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Well, mobile Webmonkey, if you read our article Tutorial:VI Tutorial for Beginners on the basics of vi, you've probably jumped feet first into vi practice, discovered that the mouse really doesn't work, and practiced a little deleting and adding text of your own. But typing jjjjjjjjjjjj and dw might seem a little limited for serious HTML work. This tutorial focuses on what happens when you've mastered the basic moves in vi and are ready for a little more functionality.
File Manipulation
So far, you've moved around within one single vi file. Let's step back a minute and review how you can manipulate that vi file within a Unix system.
Typing vi filename opens the file – but you knew that already. Any other file manipulation — saving, recovering, or quitting a file — must be done in edit mode. If you're not sure whether you're in edit mode, hit the Escape key before doing anything.
If you want to save your work, all you have to do is type:
This tells the system to write the newest version of the file into the directory where the file lives. If you've made a bunch of unsaved changes, then decided you'd rather revert back to the file you started with, go to edit mode and type:
This will tell the editor to return to the last written (saved) version of the file. If you'd rather bail on the file, just switch to edit mode and type:
And you'll have quit vi.
One of the neatest things about vi is that you can string a few commands together. So if I was in a file and wanted to save my changes and quit, I could just type:
You also can perform the following handy vi tricks (remember, these must be done in edit mode, so hit the Escape key if you can't remember which mode you're in):
To save the file you're working in as a different filename, type:
where newfilename is, obviously, the new name of the file.
To save just part of the file as a new file (which is a handy thing to know if you're breaking down a Web page into a series of server-side includes), figure out the line numbers of the first and last lines in the chunk o' file you want to save (pressing control-g displays all the line numbers in the document), then type:
:l1,l2w newfile
where l1 is the first line of the chunk, l2 is the last line of the chunk, and newfile is the name of the new file.
To recover your file after you've blown your buffer or the system has crashed on you, you'll need to reopen the file and tell the editor to go searching for the last edited copy. To do this, type:
vi -rfilename
You will need to do this at least once in your life.
To open a file at a particular pattern (which comes in handy if you're debugging your HTML and you know what you need to fix, or if you've got an HTML file with a 50-line script within the <head> tags and you want to skip ahead to the body), type:
vi +/pattern filename
So if I wanted to open the file monkeys.html at bananabanana, I'd type:
webmonkey:/usr/diva/> vi +/bananabanana monkeys.html
More Moving Around
Last time, we learned that the four most basic moves — up, down, left, and right — can be mapped, respectively, to the k, j, h, and l keys. But punching in hhhhhhhhhhh gets tedious and is fairly inefficient. There are other shortcuts for getting around.
Typing "w" moves you forward word by word, with the cursor highlighting the beginning of each word, and "b" moves you back word by word.
To go to the end of any word you've landed on, type "e" and your cursor will move to the last character in the word. You can also glide between chunks of text:Typing ")" takes you to the start of the next sentence and typing "(" will move you back to the start of the sentence immediately before your cursor. Typing "]" takes you to the beginning of the next paragraph (handy for web pages with lots of text) and "[" takes you — you guessed it — back. You can also use the line numbers to your advantage. Typing ":n," where n is the line number, whizzes you to the beginning of that line, as does typing "nG" (again, n is the line number).
Tip:You can also control where the cursor falls when you want to move from edit mode to insert mode. You already know that typing i" allows you to insert text right where the cursor was; to insert text to the right of the cursor, hit "a" instead. Or, you can open a whole new line by typing "o."
Searching and Replacing
One of the reasons I prefer to do my fast fixes in vi is because it's far quicker than downloading a file, fixing it in an app, and then uploading it again. One of the most frequent fixes I do is searching for and replacing a string of characters in a file.
Searching for text is easy:To search for a string of characters in a document, type:
The editor will look for that string from the cursor forward, through the rest of the document. You can also search backwards, by typing:
So if I had a document that read like this:
It may not be the only Unix text editor out there, but it's the only one I'm writing about today. This editor is notable for the uniquely named clones it's spawned:elvis, stevie, vile, and vim.
and my cursor was right before the "u" in "uniquely," I would type " :/it's" if I wanted to go looking for the next instance of "it's" in the document. On the other hand, if I'm looking for the word "Unix," I'd type:
Note that this search command only works on a one-shot basis:If you're looking for multiple instances of the word "elvis," you'd repeat your search string by typing ":n" or ":." (any time you type a period, it tells the editor to repeat the last command).
We've tackled searching, so let's move on to replacing. There are a lot of ways to do this, none of them particularly graceful. To replace a character in a word — say you wanted to change "vile" to "vibe" — make sure the cursor highlights the character l, and type rb (the second letter becomes the replacement letter). Fairly simple, yes? In fact, this is just a rehash of Tutorial:VI Tutorial for Beginners.
If you're set to tank a line of text and write over it, just move your cursor to the beginning of the line, type cc, and begin typing your new text.
Now it's time for vi's trick: searching and replacing. The command is frightening enough to merit its own line:
:g/string/s//replace-term string2/g
where "string" is the word you're searching for and "string2" is the replacement word. The whole command looks a little gory, but it works.
Cutting and Pasting
By now, you should be comfortable with moving around a file rapidly, searching for text, and replacing text. It's time to work on a more complex text manipulation:cutting and pasting text. Let's work with the example below.
Let's say you're trapped on a planet with a number of very large and very hungry Klingons. Your only hope is to call for a Starfleet captain. Who do you call? Kirk, because he'd kick Klingon butt? Picard, because the Klingon Empire honored its treaty with the Federation? Or Janeway, because she'd take you back to the Quadrant Delta where there aren't any Klingons?
First, I'm going to move the cursor to the phrase "Quadrant Delta." Any Trekker worth his or her tricorder knows it's the "Delta Quadrant." So I'm going to swap the order of the two words by moving my cursor to the "Q" in Quadrant; typing "dw" to delete the word; moving my cursor to the space right after the "a" in "Delta"; and hitting "p." This tells the editor to put the deleted text ("Quadrant") in the space immediately after the cursor.
I could have done this a little differently using the "P" key. "P" puts text immediately before the cursor; if I had decided that P was the way to go, I would move my cursor to the "D" in Delta, type "dw" to delete "Delta," move my cursor to the "Q" in Quadrant, and type "P" to paste the text.
Let's say I just want to add a little emphasis to the example and point out that these Klingons are giant, mutant Klingons. Lacking decent adjectives, I'm just going to say that the Klingons are "very very very large" Klingons. This means copying the word "very" and pasting it a few times. Type " yw" (this copies the word), move the cursor to the place where you want to begin pasting "very," and type "p" to your heart's content.
If you look at the yw syntax a little more closely, you'll see that it resembles the syntax for deleting:yw means to yank (copy) a word, dw means to delete it. This resemblance continues all the way through the whole family of yanking commands:You can type "yy" to yank a whole line of text, "y[[" to yank a whole section, and so on.
Your Turn
This ends your introduction to vi. By this point, you're probably comfortable enough to type "man vi" on a Unix prompt and begin deducing what sort of neat specialized vi commands there are. It's a powerful tool that could save you a good deal of time.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.


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With six wins at the American Country Awards, it was a HUGE night for Florida Georgia Line. The duo took the stage to wow the crowd on Dec. 10. What did you think of their firework-filled performance?
If Florida Georgia Line wrote me a love song, yes, it would make me want to stay — and we're sure the crowd at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas totally agreed. The men performed "Stay," at the 4th annual American Country Awards, and it was exploding with excitement — literally!
Florida Georgia Line's Performance At ACAs
The duo, Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard took down the house! They may have only been signed for two years, but they definitely know how to put on a rocking performance!
The huge winners of the night put on a super energized performance of the love song, and had the video playing in the back ground.
It had everyone singing along, and enjoying the show. No not just their muscles — they had fireworks!
Florida Georgia Line: We Love Our Album
The band's entire album, Here's to the Good Times has been incredible and completely well received.
"From day one of making the album, we wanted to make a record where there were no duds or songs you wanted to skip when you were listening to it. That was our goal," Tyler told ArtistDirect.com. "I think we did that. We both really love the album. We're also excited about putting out some new songs here fairly soon."
He later added that the goal was to make a "good time album."
"It's where we are in life, who we are as people, and what we're trying to do. The whole album describes who me and BK are as people. It's pretty cool," he said. We agree — it is pretty cool!
Tell us HollywoodLifers — what did you think of Florida Georgia Line's performance at the ACAs?
— Emily Longeretta
More American Country Awards Coverage:
- Country's Hottest Hunks — Hunter Hayes, Blake Shelton & More
- American Country Award Nominees: Taylor Swift & More — Full List
- Now's Your Chance – Win the Official 'American Country Awards' Gift Bag
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Proenza Schouler designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough have been the reigning kings of New York cool for over a decade. Annointed early by Anna Wintour, they have lived up to the promise they showed fresh out of the renowned Parsons Design School, with collection after collection of fashion with an effortlessly edgy vibe.
But when the Downtown favourites opened their first flagship store in 2012, it was on the Upper East Side. These boys - who named their business after their mothers' maiden names - have upscale aspirations. Their satchel-like PS bags are an easily identifiable accessory - modern couture's must-have offshoot earner - with a resolutely anti-"it" bag look.
Speculation swirls from time to time about their being swooped on to head up a heritage house, following in the footsteps of Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang. But
though logo mania may not be their thing, they are not averse to collaborations, as they tell Viva, provided they can show their own signature style.
This they certainly do in a limited edition collaboration with M.A.C (on sale in New Zealand from May 26), which draws on their ideas for accessories and use of ombre colour in standout metal packaging and graduated powders. Despite being known for a less is more runway beauty look, it turns out the pair share firm ideas on makeup.
Taking Proenza Schouler into new territory - they mention menswear - is clearly
how they intend to progress. Whatever direction they head in, these young masters of creativity and 21st-century couture seem destined to make their mark on more than one decade.
With all those CFDA awards under your belts, do you still feel like the boys who teamed up at Parsons or more like established industry players now? How has your approach developed in the label's 12 years?
JM: The company has grown so much since we first started, but we try not to over-think things too much. We've gone from cutting and sewing our own patterns to building entire teams for design and production. The growth of our business has allowed us to explore new categories, open our stores and produce special projects, like our collaboration with M.A.C.
With fashion seasonal and trans-seasonal churn, how do you balance the risk of subsuming your signature style in the search for the new?
JM: Proenza Schouler is not a heritage brand, so creating the brand's DNA has to be a personal process. We feel like we have the freedom to be innovative and push ourselves creatively.
You've spoken of being surprised at the long lead-in time in creating a cosmetic as distinct from a fashion collection. How did this lag influence your approach?
JM: We started with the language, the DNA, and what the packaging should look like, and then evolved it from there.
LH: We picked Pantones for absolutely everything and then M.A.C gave us some variation on the colours, working with a lot of ombre colour palettes. Ombre is something we've worked a lot with in the past, and has that softness we were looking for. There was a lot of back and forth, but we landed in a place that we're really happy with - and that we think people will respond to as well.
The Proenza Schouler runway girl as realised by [makeup artist] Diane Kendal for M.A.C each season has a sort of undone style. Explain why this is and how it works in relation to the clothes.
JM: Sometimes the clothes can be a little more of a "thing" - really worked, and really couture in a certain way - so we like to downplay that with a more natural face and hair.
LH: We love the juxtaposition of a more natural beauty that makes the look more casual and elevated. Those contradictions are very important to what we do. So we usually keep the beauty "beautiful" - we do makeup, but overall it reads a little more natural, not forced.
Does it feel different to see women interacting with your makeup than with your clothes and what do you expect customers will get from it that is uniquely Proenza Schouler?
LH: There's a "surfiness" to the beauty, and a naturalness in terms of colour. Because it is makeup, though, we wanted to up the ante and do something a little bit different than what we do for the shows. But we didn't want it to be too vixen-y or vampy. It's cooler - there's a breeziness, a nonchalance.
JM: The way we see these products being used is more individually - like maybe she's wearing nothing, but she just throws on a lipstick in a bright colour. Or maybe she's got no makeup on and just has a cool nail colour, or just a little bit of eyeliner and nothing else. We like the idea of just one makeup element thrown in, but there's still a naturalness to the girl. That's how we envisioned this collection being used.
Other than being very cool, how does the oil-slick metallic inspiration of the M.A.C packaging fit your design ethos?
LH: We've done a lot of jewellery in the past, for spring summer 2010, we did this anodised, rainbow, oil slick-y finish. It's metal, but we used this heat process that creates a strange kind of rainbow effect. That was the starting point. It's really a beautiful strong colour but there's a metallic quality to it. It just felt very representative of the brand.
What is the best makeup accessory to wear off the runway with Proenza Schouler?
LH: We've always been really big fans of lipstick, oddly enough. We love the casualness of beautiful fresh skin and a pretty fresh girl then, when she wants to dress it up, she puts on a little lipstick, which adds a bit of punch to the face. We tend to prefer that to a smoky eye kind of thing.
Is more makeup in the pipeline, or perhaps a fragrance?
JM: Absolutely. Beauty plays a huge role in what we do, so I think it naturally makes sense for us to explore this further. This is just the beginning! There are so many different directions we can go. We're open to all ideas and don't rule out perfume or menswear next.
Please share a beauty tip of your own?
LH: A little Visine [eye drops] and chapstick [lip balm].


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When Marist priests arrived in Hawke's Bay in 1851, they settled at the Pakowhai Pa (and planted the first grapes in Hawke's Bay), and were under the protection of Chief Puhara. Early sketches of the pa appear to show a small chapel. Chief Puhara's brother-in-law, Chief Te Hapuku, apparently made use of the Marists to write letters in English which he could not write.
When hostilities broke out between Chief Te Hapuku and his rival Chief Te Moananui in 1857 after Te Hapuku took forbidden wood to build a pa at Whakatu the ensuing battles left the Pakowhai and Whakatu Pas in ruins, and deserted. The Marist Priests moved to Meeanee in 1858 after their chief ally and supporter, Puhara was killed in a battle in December, 1857. Father Reigner had purchased land in Meeanee in 1857 likely after sensing hostilities between Puhara, Hapuku and Te Moananui would mean a move from the area.
The Marist priests transferred their wine growing activities to their new site in Meeanee.
A major event in the life of the Mission Estate was in 1871, when Brother Cyprian arrived at Meeanee. He took their wine activities to a commercial footing.
The land at Meeanee was less than ideal however, and before the Tutaekuri River diversion, meant frequent flooding.
Finally, in 1897 the Mission Estate purchased Henry Tiffen's elevated land at Greenmeadows probably after the disastrous flood that year. Grapes were planted (where the Mission Concert is now held) and other crops.
Father Smythe decided to move the wine-making activities, and the seminary which trained Marist priests, to the present Church Road site in 1910. The house (pictured) was cut into 11 sections, and hauled over two days by traction engine to its present site.
In 1993, the first ever Mission Estate Winery Concert was held at the Church Road site, featuring Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Tonight that tradition continues with key acts, Barry Gibb and Carole King.
If you have photographs, ephemera, costume or accessories relating to the Shakespearean Pageant held in Havelock North in 1912, HBMAG curators Lucy Hammonds and Georgina White would love to hear from you! Please ring: 06 835 7781


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Mark Doty speaking at the Key West Literary Seminar.
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Charles City, IA – The Charles City Water Department sent out a notice to residents yesterday explaining that after the record freezing this past winter and the warmer temperatures we are experiencing now, the city has determined that there is no longer any danger of ground frost causing underground pipes to freeze. They say that it's no longer necessary to run water to keep the pipes clear.
If you have any questions, log onto CityofCharlesCity.org.


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I have vivid memories of touring New Zealand in the 1990s as a support act for Greg Johnson - six band members, two roadies and a very brave young woman whose job it was to sell T-shirts - all of us squeezed into a white transit van that was as temperamental as many of its occupants.
It was great fun, but travelling in style wasn't high on the agenda. So when the opportunity came about to take a new Mazda CX-5 on the road to play a house concert in Napier I jumped at it.
It was a solo show, an intimate affair for 40 people, which sometime promoter and music-lover Jamie Macphail had organised. So no roadies or foolhardy merch girls this time - this was a family-friendly tour - accompanied by my fiancee, Wendy, our daughter, Truly, two guitars, a box of my new CD Forget the Past to sell and a brand new $56,000 car to get us there!
I hadn't driven an SUV before but getting behind the wheel of the CX-5 I was amazed at how easy it was to drive.
You may have seen the ubiquitous TV ads where the CX-5 is transformed from urbane city run-about to a lithe cheetah which loves the open road, and the analogy is apt - if you needed power it was there, lots of it, and I had to constantly check my speed as 100 km/h felt like a gentle glide, but the car was also easy to manoeuvre and actually felt like a much smaller car to drive.
Memories of crammed seats, tinny sound-systems and draughty interiors vanished as we cruised down State Highway 1 with Ryan Bingham's Mescalito blasting out on the Bose stereo (USB and bluetooth-compatible sound system with - yes - six speakers), our butts warmed up thanks to the heated seats (four degrees outside, 18 under our butt!) and the cabin cosy, thanks to the dual-zone climate control.
The interior is well set out and resplendent with the latest driving technology - a push-button start, eight-way adjustable driver's seat which memorises each driver's settings, a large touch-activated display screen with reverse camera and TomTom satellite navigation - in many ways the car drove itself.
When it started to rain the wipers switched on automatically - ditto for the headlights when the light faded - and while we didn't make use of it the CX-5 will automatically stop if it senses a (low-speed) collision is about to take place. Similarly if you're distracted and veer into another lane an alarm sounds. Parking was also a breeze as sensors sound warnings which ensure your safe arrival kerb- side.
But for me one of the main attractions of the CX-5 (which was awarded Driven's Car of the Year in 2012) is its incredible fuel efficiency. Both the diesel and petrol models represent a fundamental rethink of how an internal combustion engine works - essentially getting more performance out of less fuel. All up it cost $60 in diesel to get a full car and three passengers from Auckland to Napier. I was impressed - that kind of economy can buy a lot of studio time! In our regular car - a venerable 2006 Nissan Wingroad - it would cost more than twice that.
Indeed the popularity of the CX-5 was evident when we pulled into our first overnight stop - Wairakei Resort Taupo - where we counted no less than six CX-5s in the car park.
The trip from Taupo to Napier pressed home the brilliant handling attributes of the CX-5. My daughter can sometimes get car sick but there wasn't any sign of this as we climbed the often windy roads up the ranges.
When I needed extra power to pass a slow logging truck the CX-5 responded instantly and seemed to relish the opportunity, its cheetah alter-ego ready to spring into action.
And the gig? It went well and plans are afoot to return - though I may not get there in quite such style next time round.
• Greg travelled courtesy of Wairakei Resort Taupo and Mazda NZ. His new album Forget the Past is available now. See www.gregfleming.co.nz


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Elementary School
The elementary school offers a complete instructional program beginning with four year old Kindergarten and proceeding through 4th grade. Four-year old Kindergarten is half-day program. The District offers both full and half-day five-year old Kindergarten. Reading/ language arts, mathematics, science and social studies are the core of the academic program based on the Wisconsin State Academic Standards. Reading Recovery is used in the first grade to address students who have delays in reading.