HALLOWEEN

Halloween is coming! Surely you know something about this festival: carved pumpkins, costumes, trick or treating... If you want to know more, visit this very interesting Wikipedia page. These are the basic facts:

• It has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, the celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Irish immigrants took the tradition to the USA.
  
• The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31 the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead became dangerous for the living.
• Costumes and masks were worn in order to placate the evil spirits.
• The term Halloween derives from All Hallows' Even, as it is the eve of All Hallows Day (All Saints Day).
• The carved pumpkin is commonly called a jack-o'-lantern (see why in the Wikepedia article).

Some carvings are truly artistic. Check out this curious photo gallery.









You know which is the hottest mask this year? Forget about monsters: it's Sarah Palin, the vice-presidential candidate. They are selling like hot pancakes.

JFK

Specially for my intermediate students, more information on the death of President Kennedy.

Check out this BBC webpage, where you'll find audio and video. Don't miss 'Kennedy memories: Where you were when the president died'.

The webpage allows you to find out what happened on any date of the year (for example, your birthday).

WRONGLY CONVICTED

This man spent 19 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. He later became a millionaire. Read his story here.

CRISIS? WHAT CRISIS?

This is the title of an old Supertramp album. Not everyone goes bankrupt during a crisis, some companies even make more profits. Among them, lipstick makers. It seems that sales increase sharply in times of financial trouble. According to some experts, people adapt their shopping habits and make do with what they can afford: couples won't go out for dinner but they'll order pizza; men will buy a tie instead of a suit; women will settle for lipstick rather than perfume. So, is this true for you?

Listen to this short segment on the topic: Economy's down, lipstick's up

If you're wondering what the crisis is about, check out this simple explanation:

Firms' Soaring Credit Debt Prompted Federal Rescue

You can read the transcript, see the video (click on 'Streaming video') or just listen to the audio (click on 'Download').

There are a couple of expressions you need to know:
IOU (initials of 'I Owe You'): pagaré
bargain-basement props: my guess is 'cheap investments' (bargain basement: sección de saldos en los grandes almacenes, o tienda de saldos; props: en cine o teatro, objetos de atrezzo)

TREKKIES WITH A MISSION

This is for my advanced students.

In unit 1A we read about people with peculiar hobbies. One of them was a trekkie. I found two stories about committed trekkies. One of them had to do jury duty in a case involving President Clinton. The other one runs a very special dental office. Watch the videos and enjoy!

PS.- Don't expect me to come to class dressed like this!

TREKKIE JUROR

Also, read the story here.

STARBASE DENTAL