Archive for April, 2012
Who is Uncle Sam? Posted by Gabriele on Apr 30, 2012
Uncle Sam is an American national symbol of patriotism as well as the personification* of the American Government (Uncle Sam’s initials are U.S. – just like United States). The legend of Uncle Sam began back in the 1800’s during the US Was of 1812. This patriotic symbol of the government is supposedly based on a…
The Ivy League Posted by Gabriele on Apr 29, 2012
I bet you have heard about the “The Ivy League” before. Most Americans have too, but not everyone knows hat this term actually means and what it encompasses. “The Ivy League” is a phrase used to refer to some of America’s oldest and most prestigious national universities. It is a term with a lot…
Foreign Words in English (Part III) Posted by Gabriele on Apr 27, 2012
As I mentioned in my first post in this ongoing series, like most other languages, English contains words that are directly taken from other languages. Sometimes words that come from one language are used in a new language without much or any change are called “loanwords.” A loanword can also be called “a borrowing.” The…
Busking: Living Statues and Mimes Posted by Gabriele on Apr 26, 2012
One of my favorite type of buskers is the ‘live statue’. It is so much fun to watch these artists at work. The term “living statue” refers to a mime artist the stands still or poses like a statue and moves very rarely to the amazement of people passing by on the street. Living statue…
Busking: Puppeteers Posted by Gabriele on Apr 24, 2012
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, i.e. a puppet, in order to create the illusion of life in the object. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the audience depending on what type of puppet show is being performed. There are many ways a puppeteer can manipulate their…
Busking: Jugglers Posted by Gabriele on Apr 23, 2012
Juggling is the skill that involves moving objects by throwing them for entertainment. The most common form of juggling is “toss juggling” in which a person (a juggler) throws (or tosses) objects up in the air, catches them, and tosses them up in the air again. Another form of juggling is called “contact juggling”…
