Pick two

Clayton, CPE3, evenings

My Top 5 (plus 2)

I´m sorry Higor but I have to be fair and divide my Top 5 into Brazilian and foreign writers.

My list is:

Brazilian Writers

1 - Feliz Ano Velho, by Marcelo Rubens Paiva (it is an amazing and real story that portrays pain and happiness using the recent Brazilian History as background – I was lucky to meet the writer in a fair 10 years ago);

2 - Primeiras Estórias, by João Guimarães Rosa (I´ve read it twice, I cried and laughed in both of them);

3 - Contos Novos, by Mario de Andrade (I just love the Modernists, specially this book of Mario's, because all of the short stories happened in a São Paulo that I would have loved to live in);

4 - Memórias Póstumas de Braz Cuba, by Machado de Assis (there is not so much to talk about it, except that it is the best book ever written in Portuguese - I have read the book twice, I just loved the movie and the play is outstanding);

5 - Crônicas Escolhidas, by Rubem Braga (the short stories show the bohemian Rio de Janeiro, and the importance of the little moments of our lives).

Foreign Writers

1 - Selected Tales, by Edgar Allan Poe (I fell in love with Poe when I was 17 years old because I found out that he was a huge influence on Machado de Assis and the inventor of detective stories– I read him in Portuguese at first and then in English, which, I have to confess, is very difficult);

2 - The Witching Hour, by Anne Rice (I have read all her books, but this one is different because it portrays a family of powerful wicthes since the medieval age up to now, it is an odyssey with 1.000 pages);

3 - Die Verwandlung (A Metamorfose), by Franz Kafka (I read the book in portuguese and is pure fantastic realism with lots of metaphors - delightful);

4 - And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie (when I first read Agatha Christie I was 12 years old, and since then I have never stopped reading her– I have got approximately 30 books of hers, some in Portuguese others in English – I am just crazy about detective stories, it doesn´t matter if it is in a book, movie or tv series);

5 - Sofies verden (O mundo de Sofia), by Jostein Gaarder (I first read it when I was 17 years old and it is important to me because it was the first book that I bought with my own money, and when I started reading it opened my eyes to a whole new world – I have to confess that I have been reading it for the second time after 11 eleven years and it is amazing how a book can change when you read it again, actually only the great ones can do it).

So, that´s all folks!

Daiana Cabral Barbosa, CPE 1, mornings

How games change your brain

Mind Research Institute

This graphic shows areas of the brain that functioned more efficiently after three months of video-game practice (blue) as well as areas where the cortex became thicker (red). The left and right views show the left and right brain hemispheres.

(...) the Tetris players' brain function became more efficient in areas linked to critical thinking, reasoning, language and information processing (...)

Full article

Clayton, CPE3, evenings

No more Moses' Ark

Higor, according to the British National Corpus, common collocations with Moses' are Moses' life, Moses' intercession, and Moses' leadership.

But that doesn't prevent you from keeping your pun :)

Clayton, CPE3, evenings.

My Top 5 books! - Denis - CPE morning

Oh well, since I'm here, loggen on, I decided to do away with (see - phrasal verbs) all my online homework, namely, the blog, soon!

Here comes my list:

1. The Bible - Author - About 44 men whose names it would take a lot of time writing, but in short - God himself through those men.

2. The Left Behind Series - Tim Lahaye & Jerry B. Jenkins - actually this novel is a series of 12 books narrating the Earth last days, actually seven years, after the Capture.

3. Forrest Gump - Winstom Groom - It was also made into a blockbuster film, which I simply love, starring Tom Hanks. The book has some more details and events, such as Forrest being a wrestler. Worth reading.

4. O Xangô de Baker Street - Jô Soares - I couldn't put the book down. It is great!

5. The Hobbit - J. J. Tolkien - It is a must to find out about the begginning of the Middle Earth, and how Bilbo Baggins got the ring in the first place! Smeagol has always been disgusting, though.

The other day I came across a quote and I took it for life!

Never judge a book by its film!

So, even if you have seen the film, I'd tell you to read the book. Just to push it a little bit, I must mention a possible sixth position - which is The Chronicles of Narnia Series! Sorry, I had to... and also the Winter King, by Ben Cornwell. And also...

Funny Spanish Accent

Greetings for all at the Fellowship of the CPE,

Since I had promised our dearest teacher I would post something, I logged in, spent some minutes staring at an eager blinking cursor -which was probably wondering why in the world I was taking so long to just key something in - in my head: Blank!

Browsed through some new interesting topics on the news - Nada!

So, no sooner had I opened my hotmail account than I came across an e-mail which an American friend of mine had sent me. I remember that I laughed a lot when I first read it and I hope you do too.

She remarked that it must be read aloud having in mind your best Mexican accent, or someone whose mother-tongue is Spanish. You must imagine someone with strong Spanish accent! Here it goes:

1.Cheese
The teacher told Pepito to use the word cheese in a sentence.
Pepito replies:
'Maria likes me, pero Cheese fat.'.

2. Mushroom
' When all my family get in the car, there's not mushroom.'

3. Shoulder
'My Tia wanted 2 become a citizen but she didn't know how to read so I shoulder.'

4. TEXAS
'My girl always Texas me when I'm not home wondering where I'm at! '

5. Herpes
' Me and my girl ordered pizza. I got mine piece and she got herpes.'

6. July
'Ju told me ju were going to tha store and July to me! Julyer! Ju didn't go to any store!'

7.Rectum
'I had 2 cars pero my wife rectum!'

8. What Is
'One day my abuelita slapped me and I said juarez your problem?'

9.Chicken
'I was going to go to the store with my wife pero chicken go herself.'

10.Wheelchair
'We only have one empanada left but don't worry wheelchair '

11.Chicken wing
'My wife plays the lottery so chicken wing'

12. Body wash
'I want to go to the club but no body wash my kids '


Denis - CPE mornings

The Evening Group

This is the evening CPE group:

Standing (left to right): Adriana Manzano, Eli, Sandra, Higor, Doug, Mariana, Ricardo, Kátia, André, Luiz Carlos, Clayton (in black) and Rogério.

Sitting, kneeling, crouching, leaning (left to right): Vanessa, Carol, Priscila and Adriana C.

They rule!