"Only On The Web": Barack Obama made history as the nation's first black presidential candidate. He speaks with Katie Couric about how he will face the challenges that lie ahead.
Monday, June 30, 2008
The Energy Non-Crisis
"Lindsey Williams talks about his first hand knowledge of Alaskan oil reserves larger than any on earth. And he talks about how the oil companies and U.S. government won't send it through the pipeline for U.S. citizens to use."
Here's the book:
Here's the book:
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Patti LaBelle's 'Essentials'
The multi-decade performer and Grammy award winner talks about all her talents and sings her signature 'Lady Marmalade.' Julie Chen, Harry Smith and Russ Mitchell rock on.
The Lord's Boot Camp
A First-Time Look At 700 Kids Training To Become Christian Missionaries
"In the summer of 2007, Tabitha Taylor, Nicole Scrivener, and Valerie Smith were among the 700 kids who gave up the luxuries of iPods and cell phones to attend The Lord's Boot Camp. At the two-week, no-frills training camp in central Florida, the girls face physical and mental challenges as they prepare to embark on evangelical missions in the U.S. and Africa and spread the word of God.
"The Lord's Boot Camp," a collaboration between CBS News and Loki Films, producers of the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Jesus Camp," follows the three teens as they complete their training and go on evangelical missions here in the U.S. and abroad. (Read more...)
We assembled a panel of students from Staples High School in Westport, Conn., to watch "The Lord's Boot Camp" and to share their reactions. Watch their discussion below."
"In the summer of 2007, Tabitha Taylor, Nicole Scrivener, and Valerie Smith were among the 700 kids who gave up the luxuries of iPods and cell phones to attend The Lord's Boot Camp. At the two-week, no-frills training camp in central Florida, the girls face physical and mental challenges as they prepare to embark on evangelical missions in the U.S. and Africa and spread the word of God.
"The Lord's Boot Camp," a collaboration between CBS News and Loki Films, producers of the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Jesus Camp," follows the three teens as they complete their training and go on evangelical missions here in the U.S. and abroad. (Read more...)
We assembled a panel of students from Staples High School in Westport, Conn., to watch "The Lord's Boot Camp" and to share their reactions. Watch their discussion below."
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Mythbusters lightbulb experiment
"The mythbuster team tests the energy effiency of different lightbulbs to bust the myth that leaving lightbulbs on permanently is more efficient than turning them off when you leave a room."
Friday, June 27, 2008
Mythbusters - Bug Bomb Bomb
The Mythbusters team trys to figure out if setting multiple bug bombs off in a house combined with a spark from an oven or other device would cause the house to explode. Jamie and Adam put the myth to the test.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mythbusters - Needle in a Hay Stack
"The Mythbusters team make devices to try to find the Needle in the haystack, it's a competition between Jamie and Adam to see which devices work the best."
"A needle in a haystack is an English idiom that refers to an object (or a person) that is difficult to find because it is lost, mixed in, or buried within a much larger space, mass, crowd, or group of some other objects." - Wikipedia
"A needle in a haystack is an English idiom that refers to an object (or a person) that is difficult to find because it is lost, mixed in, or buried within a much larger space, mass, crowd, or group of some other objects." - Wikipedia
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Hero behind the superheroes
NBC's Jamie Gangel sits down with Stan Lee, creator of The Hulk, Spider-Man and other comic-book icons, to find out what inspires his prolific creativity.
The lessons of lemonade
"TODAY’s Matt Lauer talks to JJ Ramberg, host of MSNBC’s “Your Business,” about teaching your kids valuable business and life skills through lemonade stands."
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Boy With The Incredible Brain
"This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet the scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. He also meets the world’s most famous savant, the man who inspired Dustin Hoffman’s character in the Oscar winning film ‘Rain Man’."
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Three Can Play That Game
"Shanté Smith has moved to Atlanta where she's the Love Doctor, helping women get their men to the altar. Tiffany calls her after she catches her boyfriend, Byron, in a clinch with his boss, Carla, just after he wins a competition similar to "The Apprentice." Shanté initiates a five-step program for Tiffany while Byron seeks advice from his best friend, Gizzard. The five steps include her meeting his family and her offering and withholding sex; Byron and Gizzard respond with their own strategies. Then, Bryon consults Shanté: has the Love Doctor switched sides? And, what happens if Byron finds out that Tiffany's playing games? Can true love run without a play book? " - from imdb.com
In Debt We Trust
"In America's earliest days, there were barn-raising parties in which neighbors helped each other build up their farms. Today, in some churches, there are debt liquidation revivals in which parishioners chip in to free each other from growing credit card debts that are driving American families to bankruptcy and desperation. IN DEBT WE TRUST is the latest film from Danny Schechter, "The News Dissector," director of the internationally distributed and award-winning WMD (Weapons of Mass Deception), an expose of the media's role in the Iraq War. The Emmy-winning former ABC News and CNN producer's new hard-hitting documentary investigates why so many Americans are being strangled by debt. It is a journalistic confrontation with what former Reagan advisor Kevin Phillips calls "Financialization"--the "powerful emergence of a debt-and-credit industrial complex." While many Americans may be "maxing out" on credit cards, there is a deeper story: power is shifting into fewer hands.....with frightening consequences. IN DEBT WE TRUST shows how the mall replaced the factory as America's dominant economic engine and how big banks and credit card companies buy our Congress and drive us into what a former major bank economist calls modern serfdom. Americans and our government owe trillions in consumer debt and the national debt, a large amount of it to big banks and billions to Communist China."
Saturday, June 21, 2008
When to forgive and forget
TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford ask psychotherapist Laura Berman how long is too long to hold a grudge in a relationship.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Mark Wahlberg on his new film
Actor Mark Wahlberg talks to TODAY hosts about life, family and his new film, "The Happening."
GeekDad: Soda Bottle Water Rocket
"Have you ever wanted to launch your own rocket? Well, now you can, with little more than a two liter soda bottle, wire hangers, a bicycle pump and some PVC pipe."
Thursday, June 19, 2008
They had sex daily for 101 days
To reinvigorate their marriage, Annie and Douglas Brown decided to have sex daily for 101 days straight. TODAY's Ann Curry talks to the couple and to psychotherapist Robi Ludwig about the experience.
Body Builders
"We visit with Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest University and learn about how he's "cooking" and growing organs - unattached to human beings."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
American University: Vernon Jordan
The former advisor to presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter told graduates of the School of Public Affairs and Kogod School of Business, "You must carry America deeper into the 21st century."
Berklee College of Music: Philip Bailey
Berklee College of Music: Philip Bailey (from Earth, Wind, and Fire)
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Notre Dame: Martin Sheen
After being awarded the Laetare Medal for his humanitarian work, actor Martin Sheen told Notre Dame's graduating class, "acting is what I do for a living, activism is what I do to stay alive."
Harvard: J.K. Rowling
The author of the best-selling "Harry Potter" book series tells the Class of 2008, "rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."
Monday, June 16, 2008
United States Air Force Academy: George W. Bush
President George W. Bush told the Cadet Wing Class of 2008 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, "The great mission of your generation is to lead the cause of freedom."
Wesleyan College: Sen. Barack Obama
Filling in for Sen. Edward Kennedy, Sen. Barack Obama told Wesleyan's Class of 2008, "Through service, I discovered how my own improbable story fit into the larger story of America."
Sunday, June 15, 2008
The Face Behind Facebook
"Mark Zuckerberg is said to be worth $3 billion for founding the social networking Web site Facebook. Lesley Stahl talks to the man whose $15 billion company could be the next Google."
Transcript
Transcript
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
Obama on the economy
The presumptive Democratic nominee discusses gas prices, taxes, the housing crisis and other matters with CNBC's John Harwood.
McCain on the economy
The presumptive Republican talks about growth, the dollar's dive, fiscal responsibility and other matters with CNBC's Maria Bartiromo.
Friendliest cities in the U.S.
TODAY contributor Barbara Corcoran looks at the five friendliest cities in America: San Antonio; Denver; Davis, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Madison, Wis.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
McCain in exclusive interview
Republican presidential nominee John McCain talks exclusively to TODAY's Matt Lauer about his plans to shape up the economy, warning that gas prices are unlikely to come down.
Hoffman on ‘Kung Fu Panda’
Actor Dustin Hoffman talks to TODAY's Natalie Morales about his role in the new animated film "Kung Fu Panda."
A discussion about the film Sex and the City
A discussion about the film Sex and the City with actor Sarah Jessica Parker and executive producer/director Michael Patrick King.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
One-on-one with John McCain
NBC's Brian Williams interviews Sen. John McCain from his Arlington, Va. national campaign headquarters on his strategy for the general election.
Commanding Heights - The New Rules of the Game
"With communism discredited, more and more nations harness their fortunes to the global free-market. China, Southeast Asia, India, Eastern Europe, and Latin America all compete to attract the developed world's investment capital, and tariff barriers fall. In the United States Republican and Democratic administrations both embrace unfettered globalization over the objections of organized labor.
But as new technology and ideas drive profound economic change, unforeseen events unfold. A Mexican economic meltdown sends the Clinton administration scrambling. Internet-linked financial markets, unrestricted capital flows, and floating currencies drive levels of speculative investment that dwarf trade in actual goods and services. Fueled by electronic capital and a global workforce ready to adapt, entrepreneurs create multinational corporations with valuations greater than entire national economies.
When huge pension funds go hunting higher returns in emerging markets, enterprise flourishes where poverty once ruled, but risk grows, too. In Thailand the huge reservoir of available capital proves first a blessing, then a curse. Soon all Asia is engulfed in an economic crisis, and financial contagion spreads throughout the world, until Wall Street itself is threatened. A single global market is now the central economic reality. As the force of its effects is felt, popular unease grows. Is the system just too complex to be controlled, or is it an insiders' game played at outsiders' expense? New centers of opposition to globalization form and the debate turns violent over who will rewrite the rules.
Yet prosperity continues to spread with the expansion of trade, even as the gulf widens further between rich and poor. Imbalances too dangerous for the system to ignore now drive its stakeholders to devise new means to include the dispossessed lest, once again, terrorism and war destroy the stability of a deeply interconnected world."
Transcript here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/tr_menu_03.html
But as new technology and ideas drive profound economic change, unforeseen events unfold. A Mexican economic meltdown sends the Clinton administration scrambling. Internet-linked financial markets, unrestricted capital flows, and floating currencies drive levels of speculative investment that dwarf trade in actual goods and services. Fueled by electronic capital and a global workforce ready to adapt, entrepreneurs create multinational corporations with valuations greater than entire national economies.
When huge pension funds go hunting higher returns in emerging markets, enterprise flourishes where poverty once ruled, but risk grows, too. In Thailand the huge reservoir of available capital proves first a blessing, then a curse. Soon all Asia is engulfed in an economic crisis, and financial contagion spreads throughout the world, until Wall Street itself is threatened. A single global market is now the central economic reality. As the force of its effects is felt, popular unease grows. Is the system just too complex to be controlled, or is it an insiders' game played at outsiders' expense? New centers of opposition to globalization form and the debate turns violent over who will rewrite the rules.
Yet prosperity continues to spread with the expansion of trade, even as the gulf widens further between rich and poor. Imbalances too dangerous for the system to ignore now drive its stakeholders to devise new means to include the dispossessed lest, once again, terrorism and war destroy the stability of a deeply interconnected world."
Transcript here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/tr_menu_03.html
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Will new iPhone meet expectations?
June 9: CNBC's Jim Goldman reports on the expected release of Apple's new iPhone later today, with rumors of the new model including smaller, faster and even cheaper.
Bud Light "Cut The Cheese"
This commercial contains a play on words relating to three expressions, listed below:
"To cut the cheese" is slang for "to fart"
"Who cut the cheese?"
"To pinch a loaf" is slang for "to defecate"
"He's in the bathroom pinching a loaf"
In standard English, a loaf is a shaped mass of baked bread.
"To pull one's finger" is slang used in the following way:
"A phrase used when playing a prank regarding flatulence, in which a mark is asked to pull the finger of the person playing the prank, who simultaneously flatulates so as to suggest a causal relationship between the pulling of the finger and the resulting expulsion of gas." (from allwords.com)
Commanding Heights - Episode Two: The Agony of Reform
"As the 1980s begin and the Cold War grinds on, the existing world order appears firmly in place. Yet beneath the surface powerful currents are carving away at the economic foundations.
Western democracies still struggle with deficits and inflation, while communism hides the failure of its command economy behind a facade of military might. In Latin America populist dictators strive to thwart foreign economic exploitation, piling up debt and igniting hyperinflation in the process. In India and Africa bureaucracies established to end poverty through scientific planning spawn black markets and corruption and stifle enterprise.
Worldwide, the strategies of government planning are failing to produce their intended results. From Bolivia and Peru to Poland and Russia, the free-market policies of Thatcher and Reagan are looked to as a possible blueprint for escape. One by one, economies in crisis adopt "shock therapy" -- a rapid conversion to free-market capitalism.
As the command economies totter and collapse, privatization transfers economic power back into entrepreneurial hands, and whole societies go through wrenching change. For some the demands and opportunities of the market provide a longed for liberation. Others, lacking the means to adapt, see their security and livelihood swept away. In this new capitalist revolution enlightened enterprise and cynical exploitation thrive alike. The sum total of global wealth expands, but its unequal distribution increases, too, and economic regeneration exacts a high human price."
Transcript here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/tr_menu_02.html
Western democracies still struggle with deficits and inflation, while communism hides the failure of its command economy behind a facade of military might. In Latin America populist dictators strive to thwart foreign economic exploitation, piling up debt and igniting hyperinflation in the process. In India and Africa bureaucracies established to end poverty through scientific planning spawn black markets and corruption and stifle enterprise.
Worldwide, the strategies of government planning are failing to produce their intended results. From Bolivia and Peru to Poland and Russia, the free-market policies of Thatcher and Reagan are looked to as a possible blueprint for escape. One by one, economies in crisis adopt "shock therapy" -- a rapid conversion to free-market capitalism.
As the command economies totter and collapse, privatization transfers economic power back into entrepreneurial hands, and whole societies go through wrenching change. For some the demands and opportunities of the market provide a longed for liberation. Others, lacking the means to adapt, see their security and livelihood swept away. In this new capitalist revolution enlightened enterprise and cynical exploitation thrive alike. The sum total of global wealth expands, but its unequal distribution increases, too, and economic regeneration exacts a high human price."
Transcript here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/commandingheights/hi/story/tr_menu_02.html
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Dr. Katz
In the premire episode we meet Dr. Katz, who's trying to encourage his unemployed son, Ben, to search for a job and to take an interest in helping around the house. Instead he buys two expensive Vietnamise pot-bellied pigs with the intent to breed them, but neglects to specify which sexes he wants. While he is thrilled that Ben is going into "animal husbandry," Dr. Katz is disappointed that it is going to require a substantial investment of his money.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
What do women want?
June 3: Diane Salvatore, editor-in-chief of Ladies' Home Journal, talks to TODAY's Natalie Morales about a new report on what women want from family and career.
You are what you (mindfully) eat
May 6: Nutritionists say that "mindful eating," the practice of using your senses to retrain the way you eat, is a trend that could revolutionize weight loss. Part Two of the Mind-Body Connection series. NBC's Robert Bazell reports.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Ball Busters
At the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, a team of scientists make sure that every baseball that makes it into a Major League game has just the right amount of hardness and bounce.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
History in the making: Barack Obama
June 4: Watch the Brian Williams' complete interview with Senator Barack Obama, the day after he became the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party.
Spanish/English false friends list
Here's an helpful list of false friends from the IAVANTE English Training Programme and Saber Inglés:
I want it NOW!!!
I want it NOW!!!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Proficiency class- answer key
Here's the answer key I forgot to give you on Saturday:
I want it NOW!!!
I want it NOW!!!
Flotsam Found
Retired oceanographer Curt Ebbesmeyer and his colleague tracked thousands of plastic toys that fell off a freighter during a storm to map current patterns.
An hour with Warren Buffett, Bill Gates & Melinda Gates
An hour conversation about Warren Buffet's historic donation of more than $30 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The three guests discuss the gift and the impact it will have.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
World War 2.0
In spring 2007, Estonia's banks and newspapers were shut down by an organized wide-scale cyber-attack using "botnets"
KT’s ‘Drastic Fantastic’
Singer Tunstall talks to TODAY's Al Roker about comic books and what her superpower would be, and performs "Saving My Face" in the studio.
Monday, June 2, 2008
American vs.British English - some differences
Here's a great list of differences between American and British English, put together by Elisabet Seuba at http://www.elisabetseuba.com/
Download
Download
Patrick Swayze’s cancer battle
NBC's Michael Okwu reports on actor Patrick Swayze's battle with cancer and how he's handling treatments.
Mariah’s worst performance since ‘Glitter’
May 30: During her visit to Japan, Mariah Carey threw the first pitch for a baseball game held at the Tokyo Dome. The pitch took four bounces to reach the plate, but at least it got there.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
More Proficiency Material
Here are some more links to practice exams:
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c75e11d4fccb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&linkTypeBegin=contentlinkTypeEnd&vgnextchannel=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&highlightChannelBegin=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRDhighlightChannelEnd&assetNameBegin=ECPE%202006-2007%20Preliminary%20TestsassetNameEnd
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=9ce011d4fccb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&linkTypeBegin=contentlinkTypeEnd&vgnextchannel=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&highlightChannelBegin=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRDhighlightChannelEnd&assetNameBegin=ECPE%202005-2006%20Preliminary%20TestsassetNameEnd
http://www.lsa.umich.edu/umich/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=83b111d4fccb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&linkTypeBegin=contentlinkTypeEnd&vgnextchannel=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRD&highlightChannelBegin=3129d14864cb4110VgnVCM1000003d01010aRCRDhighlightChannelEnd&assetNameBegin=ECPE%202004-2005%20Preliminary%20TestsassetNameEnd
Carlos Mencia: No Strings Attached
"Meet Carlos Mencia. He has quite a few opinions… on just about everything. In this extended and uncensored comedy performance, No Strings Attached, filmed live in San Francisco, Carlos’ take on race relations, the police, immigration laws, religion and the mentally challenged will either have you wincing or laughing, but either way, he doesn’t really care, because as Carlos is quick to point out, if you ain’t laughing, you ain’t living."
Carlos Mencia: Not for the Easily Offended
"In this incredibly funny, raw, biting and ultimately smart routine, Carlos Mencia covers taboo topics including ethnic stereotypes, race relations, immigration, war, patriotism, capitalism and family with brutal honesty and unrelenting provocativeness. Mencia represents the internal voice inside us and demands we admit to thinking what he says out loud. Be prepared to laugh, get red in the face, and rewind to make sure he actually said what you think he said. Most of all, get ready to have a great time (if you’re not easily offended) with Carlos Mencia."
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