Cool aquarium tank

JAN. 4TH - Jeff's going away pizza party at Jupiter's!

Hi everyone,

Jeff is leaving the country and going back home, so the plan is to meet right after school on Monday, January 4th, at 2:45 p.m. at Jupiter, just next to the school.

Jupiter makes great pizza and they have really good beer on tap!

See you on the 4th hopefully,

Denise

Glide Memorial - so beautiful

Today Gulizar and Agnese came to Glide Memorial in San Francisco, it was so wonderful.  Thanks for coming!

I hope everyone can have a chance to go there sometime, check the previous posting for the address if you want to go.

Enjoying my time off!  Hope everyone is doing well,  Denise

See you at Powell Street BART station - 8:54 a.m. 12/25

Hi everyone,

Somehow left my cell phone at home!  I hope to see you in the morning to go to the Glide Memorial Christmas mass. 

If you need to find me tonight before 10:00 and early tomorrow morning between 7:00 and 8:00 at: (415) 992-5525.  I'm at my friend Leah's house in Alameda.

Till tomorrow,

Denise

See more funny videos and Music Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Christmas mass - Glide Memorial!

Hi everyone,

Thanks to everyone for a fun potluck today.  I hope you enjoyed Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer!

I added a link for Glide Memorial Church, look in the right column.
http://www.glide.org/
GLIDE
330 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA 94102-2735
(415) 398-4145

This place is wonderful and accepting of everyone - it's an experience to be had - I recommend it!

Rev. Cecil Williams is an amazing humanitarian - a good, good guy - feeding and caring for the homeless, the poor and the sick.

On Christmas day, whoever wants to join us, we are attending the 11:00 a.m. mass.  Since it gets really crowded, a group of us have decided to meet at the Powell Street BART station at 08:54, 12/25.  It takes less than 10 minutes to walk to Glide.

The mass includes a gospel choir and a jazz/gospel music ensemble.  Hope you will join us!

ALSO if anyone is feeling inclined - you can always volunteer in a place like Glide: while you do great things for humanity, you immerse yourself in an English speaking community!
http://www.glide.org/Volunteer.aspx

Much love - hope to see you at 8:54 at the Powell station on Christmas morning, 12/25!  Denise

LEGENDARY PYRAMIDS

Wikipedia Encycbpedia's article ''Egyptian Pyramid'', September 2009, reports about the story of the giant pyramids.
The Egypt pyramids were built for pharoahs and family's tomb.Egypt has 138 pyramids.The best known Egyption pyramids are those found at Giza. The pyramid of Khufu was built in 20 years. The pyramid construction was very hard.Because a stone weight was about 20 tons each stone and 100,000 employees worked for huge pyramids. The great pyramid has orginally 280 cubits and 146.59 meters.
The pyramid of Khufu is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It is one of the best known of the seven wonders.

" There are no bad kids,there is only bad environment"

In her artical "A town of their own". From National Geographic 2002, Jennifer Steinberg explanis how Father Edward Flanagan built a small town to make a new life for troubled kids in 1938.

All these children have a bad record(ex: drugs, attempted suicide etc). They were sent by family or court.

In general, this small town has a school, hospital, police station etc. not different from any other town.

They control every kid by diving them into a group of 6-8 people, same- sex, mixed-race. Each group has parent-teacher to over see them. They treat the children like part of their family.

The cost of living is not much because the money comes from donations, some parents, trust funds, and fees that are paid by state agencies.

Summary of saving energy

In his article "Saving Energy", National Geographic March 2009, Peter Miller reports that saving energy starts at home.
Peter Miller and his wife, PJ, started a project to reduce CO2 emissions, because global warming became a serious problem. And they realized that the average of producing CO2 in U.S.A. is more than twice the European average and almost five times the global average. According to the Tim Flannery who wrote the book of the Weather Markers, he insists that we have to reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent.
Peter Miller and PJ Miller tried to change their daily habits for a month begining in July. PJ read their electric meter each morning. They turned down the geater's temperature and reduced using their car. But it was not easy. So they asked for some hepl from an expert. The expert found that the energy flows out even if they didn't know it.
After a month, they received their electric bill, they saved $190 because of their efforts. And they will make more efforts by changing lightbulbs, opening a window instead of using an iar conditioner, riding a bike, and so on.

Carnotaurus

In his article, Extreme Dinosaurs, National Geographic, December 2007, John Updike

discusses many types of dinosaurs, among them the Carnotaurus.

The Carnotaurus lived 82-67 million years ago in Argentina.

This dinosaur probably doesn't look like a dangerous predator, the reason for that is because it has small teeth and ting arms. It confuses you because it really is a perfect killing machine: big, bad, strong and fast. It has the some construction as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but with horns.

In his article "Jewel Scarabs", National Geographic, February 2001, Ronald D. Cave reports about the jewel scarabs of Honduras's tropical montane forests. Researchers studying these animals discovered at least seven new species since 1992.

These bugs are collected because of their impressive colors. There are even silver and gold ones that can cost as much as US$500. But the biggest threat to scarabs is the loss of habitat as tropical forests are converted to farms.

The rainy weekend.

Hi everyone,

This weekend was sooooo boring because of the rain. I was sick of staying inside the house. To kill the bordom, I cooked something. The first thing was the same dish I brought for the potluck; spicy friedrice with tofu. I sort of invented it myself, I mean I just decided to make it because I thought it must be good. Now I know that it's not new, some people make it, too. But as far as I know, it's not traditional and not on any menus I that I know of. The second is stir fried bean thread noodles with tofu instead of pranws. It is very yummy with prawns but my boyfriend doesn't eat them. I use the same recipe for both of them. You just need to know what kind of vegetables you like. For me I prefer greebeans, carrots and red cabbage. I need a lot of fiber in my diets. It would be good if you can use brown rice or red rice for the fried rice because it's another way to get more fiber. First I dice the vegetables and the tofu. I like them small because it would be easy to eat. This step can take an hour for me. And if you are going to make it with the bean thread, this is time to soak it in room temperature water. Next, just go out and relax for a while before you feel bored in the kitchen. After you feel better and ready to cook, get a pan out and put some olive oil in it. Turn the stove on not very high. Start frying the tofu first. Put the sauces in. I use two kinds of sauce; chili sause and soy sauce. And don't forget to put the spicy tom yum paste in, too. Stir until everything is mixed. Then put the rice or the noodles in. How do you know if the noodles are ready? Touch them. If they soft, they are ready to be cooked. Stir fry until everything is mixed. The well cooked noodles are clear, very clear. Taste it. The rest is how spicy, how sour, how sweet or how salty you want it to be. The vegetables are the last thing you put in the pan because you want to make sure that they won't be over cooked. For me, I put the vegetables in and turn the stove off and keep stirring it to make sure that it's nicely mixed. Decorate the dish with some sliced tomatoes and red cabbage, and don't forget to eat everything on the plate. Don't waste anything.

need signatures from: Pim, Gulizar, Anatoliy, Jeff, Ugur, Lori, Astu and Ray

Hi everyone!  Long email ahead - this is important - it's about your stories getting published in an English language learning book!

Remember I told you about the book project I was working on with my professor a few months ago?  Her name is Gail Weinstein and the name of the book is Learner's Lives.  

Originally the team could only use three stories, Pim's, Gulizar's and Anatoliy's.  Now they are able to use more stories.  So that's why I'm reaching out to you Jeff, Ugur, Lori, Astu and Ray.

Here's what's going on:  in order for us to publish your stories and your photos in the book, we need your signature on a permission slip.

For those of you who are at the school, please see me about signing the permission slip.  For ex-students,  if it's easy for you to stop by the school Monday or Tuesday, before 2:30 great  - otherwise -

for those to whom, coming to the school would pose a hardship, please send me your post mail address, we will send you the permission form, you can sign it and mail it back to us.  We will include envelopes and postage for you.

If I don't reach you, oh well, maybe next time!

Thank you very much.  Let me know if you would like the publisher to remind you which story you submitted since I know you wrote them some time ago!

Denise

PHOTOS OF YOU PLEASE

Hi - if any of you are reading this and you don't have your photo uploaded to our blog, what are you waiting for?  We want to see your cute faces here, OK?  

The great white shark!

This is a mammal kind of animal. The great white shark populates the whole world. They are a good example of perfect predators - fast, strong and strategic.

Bill Allen, the editor of National Geographic, explains in his editorial, that when the movie and the novel Jaws by Peter Benchley were released in 1974, everyone was terrified of sharks!

Today, we have the same situation, but in the opposite way: the sharks should be scared of people!

According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) killing of sharks has skyrocketed 2,000 percent since 1991.

Twenty-five years later, Peter Benchley, in his article, Sharks, in National Geographic, April 2000, tries to show sharks in a different light. According to Benchley, what do we need to do? We need to save the sharks and stop our destroying missions.

Now they are protected off the coast of Australia, some tips of Africa, the Maldives and parts of the U.S. It's a first step for a solution to this problem.

From Anatoliy

Hi everyone who remember me, don't worry i'm steel here i just really busy by studying some unusual complicate stuff for me,
Tomorrow i ll have free time to visit class so see you late


Here is some art from Ukrain. It represent history of people of USSR during second world war

WE ARE MISSING ANATOLIY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Case Type : went another way
Missing Day : 3 month ago, 2009
Mental Age: over 40
Missing City : Berkeley
Missing Sate: CA
Missing Country : United States
Case Number : c.o.m.e.b.a.c.k.t.o.2.0.1.0

Hi Everyone!

We lost our handsome classmate in Bay Area. We miss him enough to cry all day. We coudn't reach him by phone. Who ever sees him, please let us know.
Thanks a lot.

Meerkats

Tim Clutton Brack's article , Meerkats Stand Tall , Nnational Geographic , September 2002 , reports about the life of the meerkat.
Meerkats live in Kalahari, Africa . They are mammals and live in large groups. They live among 40 members. Cooperation and group loyalty are very important to them. For example,while the group is eating , one meerkat acts like their guard against predators. When the guard feels some danger , it gives an alarm. If there isn't any denger, it gives a ''watchman's song'' signal.Another characteristic is that they have long claws that they use for making tunnels. Also they use their tails for walking on their 2 legs for balance .

Bird of Paradise

I am always in love with this kind of flower. It is colorful. Every part of it makes it beautiful. I took this shot myself when this one was blooming. I was waiting for the moment that it was opening for two weeks. It's worth waiting, I think.

Summary of "The Beauty of Full Figure"

8,000 years ago, Sha'ar Hagolan was once the largest city in the Middle East, like New York or London.
They had great technology of fired-clay pottery and created elegant, stylized designs such "Mother goddess" figurines which have squinty eyes and massive belly fat.
They are found by archaelogist Yosef Garfincle. According to him,these figurines have been used in routine households as a good-luck charm for feritility and the well-being of their family.

Interesting Places

I went to Humane Society of Berkeley on Sunday and I dropped by this place before I went there. It's an interesting place. There are a lot of open studios. The whole area is about three blocks at least. I like it a lot because I got to see how the artisans actually work to come up with thier arts. I reccomend this place for folks who like art.

Art car. I have seen it twice, once was in Solano stroll and this time in the art area I mentioned.

A fountain in China town, Oakland. I don't know what it means but I like it.

Bird Pictures I (and DML) Took in Two Weeks.

What kind of bird is this? We saw him at Berkeley Marina. He looks like a vulture but the beaks look too strong to be a vulture. Sounds like I know about birds, I don't, by the way.

Pellican in Jack London square. There are a few of them. We were trying to take when they are diving but we couldn't get good a shot.

Anyway, I took this one in Berkeley. I never thought I would be able to take a picture of a humming bird before because they are so fast.

Pigeons don't look so pretty up in the sky but when they walk on the ground and in the sun they are much prettier becuase I can see the color better. And they color changes from grey to purple and from purple to green.

AMERICAN AIRLINES

According to an advertisement by American Airlines, in the New Yorker, 6/16/2008,
they are " Head Of The Class" in airlines in the world.

American Airlines has improved high tecnology about seats on its Boeing 777 and 767-300 fleet of planes for satisfaction of customers.
American reconfigured business cabins, such as: they designed the widest armrest, a flexible tray table and the available set-control memory button. In addition, movie and televison programming are refreshed monthly. Further, American is open to providing different delicious-menus for customers.
American has a First Class Flagship Suite as comfortable as a private room.
American Airlines enchants customers with their innovations.

Surviving in Space Summary.

In the article Surviving in Space, National Geographic January 2001, Micheal E. Long reports how astronauts have to face difficulties while living in space and how the problems are going to be solved.

According to Long, there are a lot of problems living in space including disorientation of weightlessness, physical problems and psychological problelms.

Astronauts have nausea from weightlessness but they can adjust after a while and even enjoy it later. Fluid flows upward too much in space and that causes organs to enlarge. Lack of exercise make astronauts suffer from muscle weakness and bone loss but exercise is the best solution for those. Researchers are designing a computer system to indicate astronauts to fix the injuries themself in case of emergency. Radiation from the sun and other galaxies are not absorbed in space. Astronauts can get cancer because of it. Now researchers are coming up with some antioxidant drugs to cope with such a problem. Psychological problems occur in isolated space ship especially when you have to always deal with the same people everyday. Isolation, cultural differences and having tight shedule cause stress and depression, too but the crew just have to talk abou it and understand each other's culture so they can adjust to each other.

Long also states that NSBR (National Space Biomedical Research Institute) is ready for the Mars mission in 2010. Research results can also help people with related diseases. According to a cardiovascular surgeon, we need science research and we are not wastig money in space projects.



Micheal E. Long, (January 2001). Surviving in Space. National Geographic.



NOTE: The article is 23 pages long including a lot of graphics. I left something out for sure but I hope I got all the main ideas.

"The Macaw : Clay Variety"

From National Geographic 1994, the research zoologist CHARLES A. MUNN asks "Why does the Macaw eat clay?" He make a research for many years to answer this question.

In southeastern Peru, lives one of the most beautiful varieties of birds in wildlife. Here, we can find dazzling wildlife living on the gray-pink clay. At 130-feet-altitude, the biggest class of parrots "Macaws" congregate.

There are 3 kinds of Macaws, the red&green is the biggest - the scarlet is slimmer with darker blue wings and yellow shoulders - the blue&yellow is more gold and turquoise. Macaws mate for life and live in a big crowd.

The food of Macaws is not the pulp of fruits but they eat the seeds inside. These make Macaws different from the other birds. But they also eat gray-pink clay because the clay is high in salts and minerals. Another reason is because many seeds that Macaws eat, have toxic chemical compounds and the clay can blend with the toxins and speed them through their bodies. So Macaws have to eat clay to detoxify themselves.

Summary.

In his article Across the Arctic, "National Geographic, March 2002", Borge Ousland reports about his journey crossing the North pole.
According to his article, he crossed the north pole from Russia to Canada from March 3 to May 23, 2001, because he wanted to challenge to the world and himself.
During 82 days, he walked on the ice, skied, swam and rode in a sled. Whenever he didn't whether know the ice was safe or not, because of global warming, he tracked the polar bear's footprints.
Borge Ousland succeed in his expendition because he believed even if something is very hard, there is a way.

winter thoughts

It's finally really cold and it feels good to be bundled up and writing papers for school!  I have an amazing amount of work to produce within the next few weeks for school.  Time for a warm drink and more writing!  I'm writing a paper about the art of summarizing.

only a dream in rio

hi you guys, i'm in the middle of writing papers, but i just posted this link to facebook, and wanted to share it here - it's a song i heard back in the 80's and it made me cry - i miss brazil, i miss rio, i miss the old days!

This is a song by James Taylor, and one of the most famous Brazilian musical geniuses, Milton Nascimento is singing backup vocals!  Additionally, Nana Vasconcelos is on percussion, another master!  I hope you enjoy this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWRlaYkIKgM&feature=related

Congratulation!!!!!!!! You won!!!!!!!!!! Denise!!!!!!!!!!!

Finally you saw second writing of me...I coudn't run away from her....but thanks a lot Denise....

Summary of zebra article

Zebras!

In Kenya there is the biggest population of zebras, some 200,000.

They migrate 300 miles during the year. They are herbivorous animals that look like horses but have pretty stripes, it is like an I.D. picture, and this may be confusing to predators.

"Horse In Prison Grab"

Most people call the zebra "A HORSE IN THE COSTUME".It's true because the zebra is the cousin of the horse.They have alternate black&white stripes along their body and no one has the same stripes.These stripes also help them to make predators confused.

Every year,the zebra migrate to follow the rain more than 300 miles between Tanzania and Lusher Kenya.

Anup Shah and his brother spent a year to find a visual feast in the giant animal herds.

A Summary of the Zebra Article

The zebra is the cousin of the horses. They are athletic and have beautiful crazy stripes to confuse predators. They migrate in the dry season from Tanzania to Kenya in Africa. It looks like a fashion festival of more than 300 miles.