Prepositions

!Click on the photo!

Here is a little grammar review. It’s not such a hard exercise and it won’t take you long to solve

this crossword. If you want to check your answers, have a look at http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/cross/cross_prep.htm.

Additionally, you can find more helpful grammar exercises on this website.

Incubus

One of my favourite bands is definitely Incubus. The name of their first single form the new album called Light Grenades is Anna Molly. It was already broadcasted in November and the single Love Hurts followed last month. However, I can’t wait for their next single to come out.

If you want to stream the song Anna Molly follow this link:
http://www.sonybmgemail.com/arch/Hit?m=tcfffo9mq&u=ffomz

Here is the tracklisting from their new album:

01. Quicksand0

2. A Kiss To Send Us Off0

3. Dig0

4. Anna Molly

05. Love Hurts

06. Light Grenades

07. Earth to Bella Part 1

08. Oil and Water

09. Diamonds and Coal”

10. Rogues

11. Paper Shoes

12. Pendulous Threads

13. Earth to Bella Part

Unfortunately, I’ve never had the opportunity to see them live, but I’m working to catch up with this. Incubus will be performing on the NovaRock festival, which will be in June in Lower Austria. If you want to check the line-up, have a look at http://www.novarock.at/.

Hope to see you there.

Going Abroad (Ireland?)

As we have to go abroad, and I’m really looking forward to spending some time in a foreign country, I was pondering where to go and what to do. Australia, US, UK…??? There are several points to choose from but to be honest I’ve never considered Ireland as an opportunity.

The reason is simple. If you want to work in Ireland, which I would prefer instead of studying abroad, a lot depends on the “who do you know”. Last week we mentioned this important point in our Jaywalking with the Irish presentation. In my case I had no helpful connections to Ireland until last Saturday.

I was working as usual. However, I met a nice couple, who are friends of my boyfriend’s father. We had a typical chat about what I’m studying and so on. After some time it turned out that one of them is working in Ireland, or rather his company has an exchange program with Ireland, Kilkenny. My delighted facial expression must have signalised that I would love to spend a period of time there, so he promised me that he’ll try to find some work for me.

Presumably he’ll call me today or tomorrow and as soon as I get further details I’ll let you know.

The Kiss wiht Consequences

I’m pretty sure all of you have heard about Richard Gere’s misadventure when he kissed Shilpa Shetty, and Indian celebrity, at an Aids awareness rally in New Delhi.

In our culture such a spontaneous gesture wouldn’t bother anybody, but displays of affection are strictly forbidden in India, the land of great diversity. Protestors even demanded that Shilpa Shetty and Richard Gere should be killed for their careless and abusive action.

This incident happened on April 16th nevertheless Indian people are not satisfied with the simple apologies from Richard and Shilpa. Today I’ve seen on BBC that Indian priests will fight until both of them have been punished.

What do you think? Can you understand such intense reactions? In my opinion it should be considered that Richard Gere is an American, who is obviously not aware of Indian codes of behaviour. On the other hand he proudly declared himself as a great admirer of Indian culture, which shows that he should take further insights into their customs.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6560371.stm

The Giant's Causeway

The Giant's Causeway is a group of unusually shaped rocks on the coast of Northern Ireland, which were formed by a flow of lava into the sea. It was declared a Word Heritage in 1986.

As we know Ireland is a country full of mystical legends and of course there is one about the Giant's Causeway.

It is said that Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the Causeway to walk to Scotland in order to fight his Scottish opponent Benandonner. There are two versions of this legend.

One is that Finn McCool fell asleep before he went to Scotland. As a consequence the more powerful Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. Oonagh, Fionn’s wife, wanted to protect her hunsband and laid a blanket over him. Moreover, she pretented he was Fionn’s baby son. As you can imagine Benandonner saw the enourmous size of the baby and pictured Fionn as gigantic and unconquerable.

Another version is that Fionn begged his wife to disguise him as a baby after seeing Benandonner.

However, in both versions Benandonner left Nothern Ireland scared. To make sure that Fionn wouldn’t follow him, he splitted up the Causeway.

So, do you believe it :)???

How rich is Ireland?

The rapid economic growth, known as Celtic Tiger, in the Republic of Ireland began in the 1990s and ended in 2001/2002. In this period Ireland transformed into one of Europe’s wealthiest countries. This entry is aimed at examining the current situation. For further particulars read the Sunday Times Rich List.

The Sunday Times has published a Rich List a few days ago. A quick glance at this list will prove that Ireland is still a wealthy country. To get into the top 250 of Ireland’s richest people you need to have at least €32 million. An estimation showed that there are about 20,000 millionaires in the country. (total population 4,234,925). They also have seven billionaires in their midst.

For further information follow this link:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article1690085.ece

Driving in Ireland

Another topic mentioned in Jaywalking with the Irish is driving in Ireland. Americans find Irish roads dangerous and slow, so here are some facts.

Firstly, Ireland’s roads are not appropriate for the volume of traffic they carry. Although new roads are built throughout the country and existing ones are being improved it will be some time before they reach a tolerable international standard.

Secondly, the roads are narrow; moreover, there is little or no hard shoulder (the area at the side of a big road where you are allowed to stop if you have a problem with your car). Another problem is that the verges (the edge of a road) encroach onto the road, which is a huge safety problem.

If you happen to be driving in Ireland and you see sings warning you of curved parts of a road, pay attention, they really mean it. Major hazards in Ireland are locals, who knowing the roads very well, drive them at breakneck speed. Additionally, Ireland is an agricultural country, so you will come across agricultural machinery travelling at about 10 miles an hour, tempting you to overtake. Consequently keep in mind to drive slowly and with caution.

Putting aside the fact that Irish roads are narrow and winding, there is another threatening development. Believe it or not, about 40% of Irish drivers have never passed a driving test. For the most part they are driving legally on what is only supposed to be a provisional license. This regulation allows some to drive a car while accompanied in order to learn to drive, but people use to renew these licences regularly and drive as though on a full licence.

In short, the main hazards are widespread poor road conditions, drunk drivers, poor enforcement of traffic laws and unskilled drivers.