Mardi Gras - Carnival

The feast before the fast
by Holly Hartman and Chris Frantz

Millions of people every year crowd New Orleans to view the Mardi Gras parades.
"Mardi Gras" means "Fat Tuesday." Traditionally, it is the last day for Catholics to indulge—and often overindulge—before Ash Wednesday starts the sober weeks of fasting that come with Lent. Formally known as Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras has long been a time of extravagant fun for European Christians.In the United States, Mardi Gras draws millions of fun-seekers to New Orleans every year. Mardi Gras has been celebrated in New Orleans on a grand scale, with masked balls and colorful parades, since French settlers arrived in the early 1700s. Hidden behind masks, people behaved so raucously that for decades in the early 19th century masks were deemed illegal in that party-loving city.

Masks, Music, and Mayhem
French royals, feather-covered showgirls, Energizer bunnies, painted clowns, masked lions—you can find them all (and countless others) in the streets of New Orleans at Mardi Gras. By dawn on that most famous Tuesday, people have claimed the best spots on the streets to watch fabulous floats, outrageous performers, and visiting celebrities go by. Many travel hundreds of miles to be a part of the excitement.
Marching bands, some of them founded more than a century ago, also take to the streets with music and festive dress. They open the day by spreading jazz music through the city before the more than 350 floats and 15,000 costumed paraders take over the scene. Crazy costumes and wild make-up are the order of the day for paraders and parade-watchers alike.

What Science is finding out about why we kiss.

You may be surprised what messages you're sending and receiving when you lock lips.
By Katherine Hobson, U.S. News & World Report

There's nothing like a good kiss. You lean toward your beloved, close your eyes, hope your breath is okay, and ... fade to black. But a kiss, as we're now learning from scientific research, is hardly just a kiss. Rather, it's a complex act of courtship that may help us pick our mate, perhaps even through unconscious chemical signals, and assess and maintain a relationship. "Kissing is not just lips meeting other lips," says Sarah Woodley, Ph.D., a biologist at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
Many philematologists—those who study kissing—agree that it began as a way for mothers to pass on pre-chewed food to their infants. Obviously it's come a long way since then, but scientists are beginning to tease out exactly what the prototypical long smooch between two adults means. What purpose does it serve?

The role of testosterone
Some of these chemicals might play a role similar to the theorized role of testosterone in saliva, making females less tense and happier (and more prone to have sex). Or, the odors might help in assessing whether a potential mate is of high genetic quality or is genetically compatible, she says. Certain genes govern the "major histocompatibility complex"—proteins involved in the immune system that help identify whether foreign bodies are part of us or not. (The similarity of an organ donor's and recipient's MHC plays a major role in determining whether the organ is accepted or rejected.) "These genes also make people smell different," says Woodley, and how you judge a potential mate's smell may indicate whether his immune system or general genetic makeup is similar to yours.

Kissing and stress reduction

Kissing may also reinforce pair bonding, helping to maintain relationships. Research by Wendy Hill, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Lafayette College, in Easton, Pa., has shown that kissing reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol. In a study to be presented on Valentine's Day at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Hill and her co-authors report that a second study, also small, found that the longer the relationship between the two parties, the more cortisol levels declined. (So did cortisol levels in the control group of couples who talked softly rather than kissing.) Hill is also studying the role of oxytocin, a social bonding hormone that promotes calm and attachment; previous research has suggested it rises during kissing, at least in men.
Whatever we have yet to learn about the science of kissing, there's no denying that it seems to act as an indicator of how a twosome is doing. "In an established relationship, the frequency of kissing is a good barometer as to its status," says Gallup. "If it's no longer featured prominently or is entirely absent, there's a much higher probability that the relationship is in trouble."

Content provided by:

Common Everyday Expressions!!

Hi there,

Just like in Portugese, we have our own everyday expressions! And I'll be posting here some of them every other month! I'd like you guys to leave a comment using the expressions you'll be learning from our blog!!

So, come what may*, You must practice them!!

I hope you enjoy!

Here are some of them:

Come what may*: Aconteça o que acontecer, venha o que vier

Are you done? : Terminou? ( de fazer alguma coisa)

Step on it: Acelera!!!

Well, with these expressions you'll be able to sound more like an American!!

New Year's Resolutions!!!

New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. What are your New Year's Resolutions? Write them down and share them with us!!

Write about the dialog above. What's the message behind it?

Present Continuous

What are they doing?

a. She/wash the dishes.

b. He/work.

c. They/visit a friend.

d. Bob/ write a letter.

e. Jim/type an e-mail.

f. Bill/watch TV

When you don't want to be Facebook friends

Connecting with your past can bring up those old, uncomfortable feelings
Duane Hoffmann / msnbc.com


Facebook and other social networking sites can be great for getting back in touch ... unless you'd rather your past stay in the past, that is.
by Joy Jernigan
msnbc.com contributor
updated 7:39 p.m. ET Nov. 18, 2008


Andrea Smith recently received a Facebook friend invitation from someone she went to junior high school with — 23 years ago.

“I found it kind of baffling,” said Smith, 38, of Ypsilanti, Mich. “I knew who she was, but I don’t recall that we were ever friends. I don’t recall that we ever had a conversation.”
Social networking sites such as Facebook have experienced phenomenal growth in the past year, according to market researcher comScore. Facebook is now the No. 1 social networking site, with more than 120 million active users, and its fastest growing demographic is those 25 and older.

But with so many opportunities these days to connect with people online, some are confronting a question they thought they had left behind during their awkward adolescent years: What if I don’t want to be your friend?
“It’s really odd when suddenly your past comes out and finds you,” said Troy Sandal, 38, of San Francisco, who says he’s been contacted recently by former high school classmates. His 20-year high school reunion was held over the summer, although he did not attend. “To be honest, I had two friends in high school and I kept in touch with one.”
Sandal, who’s been on Facebook for about two years, says he’s not interested in collecting a large number of online friends. “You don’t want to add them as friends, you want to add them as ‘Hey, I knew you ” he said.
OK to ignore an invitationIt’s perfectly OK to ignore an invitation, especially one the sender has made no effort to tailor specifically to you, said Jason Alba, CEO of JibberJobber.com and co-author of “I’m on Facebook — Now What???”
"You don’t have to respond to every single thing that comes at you," he writes.
Some users of social networking sites prefer to “friend” people who are colleagues or friends in real life. Some send invitations to friends of friends in an effort to expand their network, while others attempt to friend someone who has an interesting profile. Those new to Facebook are prompted to send a friend request to everyone in their address book (although they have the option to skip this step).
That’s what happened to Laura Hesse, 36, of Orange, Calif. When she signed up for Facebook in August, she had a friend talk her through the initial setup. In the process, she sent a mass invitation of friendship to everyone in her address book — including a family member she had cut all ties with.
“I had no idea what I was doing!” Hesse said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, no, she’s going to get it!’ ”
Sure enough, the woman accepted Hesse’s unintended invitation of friendship.
“She was able to catch up on the past three or four months of my life,” said Hesse, including photos of her kids and a recent kitchen remodel. “I kind of felt like she got a whole glimpse of it within a few hours. There’s a reason they’re not in my life, and there’s a reason I didn’t want them to see this stuff.”
As soon as Hesse realized she could “unfriend” her family member — by clicking on the X to the right of her name — she did. Hesse then disappeared from her relative’s Facebook page, although she later heard the woman was devastated when she found out.