Pronunciation: The Dark /r/

Lisa Mojsin, author of Mastering the American Accent, talks about the difference between the British /r/ and the North American /r/. She adds some tips and practise. Enjoy!

Related Post: Pronunciation: /r/ Sound

Canada Gets 14 Golds

I wanted to present a look back at the Vancouver Olympics 2010 via a video, but the Canadian Broadcasting Station, CTV, 'owns' all the best moments. Here's the best I could do which is a link to OlympicsCTV. This video shows some of the greatest moments and the collective energy felt by all Canadians. Press here

The final gold metal was from the Canadian Hockey Team. Hockey is our national sport, so it was important to Canadians to win this final gold. The arena was one big mass of red as so many fans dressed in their Canadian colour or wore their favourite hockey players sweater to cheer on Team Canada..... a tie breaker that ended in overtime. What a storybook ending!

Then the closing ceremonies brought the Vancouver 2010 Olympics to an end. The ceremonies showcased some of our most popular celebrities. It was fun to see Canadians make fun of themselves. Yes, we have the beaver, moose, mounties, maple leaves and yes, we tend to be polite and say sorry a lot. Did you see how many Canadian Olympic participants apologized for not winning a medal? Yes we say ,"I'm sorry" a lot, but we also say, "Thank you". So, thanks for blessing Canada with so many healthy determined young athletes. May we all strive in our own ways to be the best at what we do.

....and celebrate those moments.

Street Party Photographs, February 28, 2010: (bottom)Downtown Toronto by Scorlirk and (top) Downtown Vancouver by Ecstaticist,Flickr



Related Posts:

Who lit the flame at the 2010 Olympics?

Wanna Be Wednesday 6/3

Juno Awards 2009

Tim Hortons

Music Monday: The Olympic Song

Who is the singer?

Nikki Yanofsky was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1894. She's a jazz-pop singer who has her first album coming out soon. She sang Oh, Canada, our national anthem, at the opening ceremonies for the 2010 Olympics.

Whose in the video?

Past medal winners and this year's hopefuls.

Where did the song come from?

Steven Moccio is a Toronto composer and has written songs for Celine Dion and Josh Groban. According to the Globe and Mail, Maccio composed the song about four years ago after Vancouver won the Olympic Games. The lyrics were added by Allan Frew from the band, Glass Tigers. It's called I Believe or in French, J'Imagine.

What's it about?

The lyrics or words are at the bottom of this video. It's about believing in yourself and your abilities and I think a bit of team spirit is there too.

Who lit the flame at the 2010 Olympics?

Photo by erieliou, Flickr


Before the opening ceremonies of the 2010
Vancouver Olympics, Canadians were
wondering who would light the flame?
It had to be a great Canadian hero. But we
were all wrong. It was four of our
greatest athletes.



These are Canadians who lit the fire in the stadium:

1. Nancy Greene
2. Steve Nash
3. Catriona Le May Doan
4. Wayne Gretsky

These are their sports:

a) Basketball
b) Downhill skiing
c) Hockey
d) Speed skating

Now, can you match the sport and the superstar?


Look in "comments" below for the answer. Also, for some great photos of the opening ceremonies, press here.

Winter in Toronto: The Olympics

Andrew Hesp, Flickr

For me, the olympics started about 2 months ago when the torch passed through Toronto for the first time. It was a cold night and I was heading for a meeting at Yonge and St Clair when people started to line the street. In 10 minutes, the crowd was able to see the flame coming. It towered above the runner as it does in this photo. It was a small event, but I felt lucky and honored to have seen the historical flame.

For Valentines Day: Free Hugs and Sick Puppies

"Free Hugs" that's what Juan Man put on a sign. He decided a good way to warm up this cold world was to reach out and hug someone. Using his sign, Juan was able to get free hugs from strangers. In return, he put a smile on many faces in a mall in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, life can never stay that simple. Watch the video and see what happened next.

As of today, almost 56 million have watched this video and at the time, it became video of the year. The Sydney rock band, Sick Puppies wrote a song for Juan Man to cheer him up. They made the video and put it on YouTube. The song is "All the Same"





Happy Valentine's Day

Here's the song, "All the Same".
Listen to the music and follow the words.





Other posts for Valentine's Day:

• A Love Story
• Winter in Toronto 5
• Film Festivals 3: Signs
• Film Festival 3: Signs Part 2

The Next Decade: Renault Twizy ZE

Would you like to take this car for a spin in the city? The Renault Twizy ZE is a zero emmision electric car. Check out the wheels of this futuristic car. When the Twizy is moving, it looks like it is hoovering. Also, there are no traditional doors, but there are side airbags built in for added safety. How big is this car? The Twizy ZE is 2.30 m in length by 1.13 m in width.

Wanna be Wednesday 1/13/2010

I want to be a native of Pandora. This is the setting of the popular science fiction movie, Avatar, which is written and directed by James Cameron. He won an Oscar for the movie, Titanic. Avatar is best seen in 3D. When you wear the 3D glasses you feel like you are there.

The natives of Pandora love their moon and respect all living things. They have no machines and use powerful creatures to transport themselves. The natives are able to move easily on land and in the air. They move up and down mountains and the tallest trees with ease. They live freely in a forest that they will never leave. They enjoy many stories about their ancestors and live peacefully. Their life has nothing to do with money, but their survival is dependant on understanding nature. They are not the highest creatures on the food chain. There are dangerous animals in the forest, and they must respect them to live safely. Could life really be this pure?

Here is an interview by the actress, Zoe Saldana, who plays the native, Neytiri. Her mother and father are the leaders of the natives called Navi. She describes Neytiri and the culture of the Navi in the movie, Avatar.





Other movie posts, 2009:

Wanna be Wednesday 6/3

Music Monday: Disney Nature "Earth"

Ottawa: 50 People One Question

This short film is an example of a participating YouTube video. The original film was done on a hot day in New Orleans, United States. The producers came up with the idea to ask as many people as possible the same question. It was called 50 People One Question and was posted on YouTube September, 2008.

Then people in different states used the same idea and posted their films on YouTube. Also, it went global. For example, there were films made in Canada and Australia. Here is response video that was filmed in Ottawa, Canada a year later.




.***Cultural note: The word, Beaver Tail, is pastry. It's a kind of flat donut in the shape of a beaver's tail. To see the animal, a beaver, check out the Canadian 5 cent coin.



How would you answer this question?

Winter in Toronto 6

My feet are cold.
By Grant MacDonald

A picture is worth a thousand words. Winter has hit in Toronto. It's one of those Sundays, it's best to cuddle up with a good book or a laptop and wrap yourself in a warm blanket. Just looking outside makes me feel cold. The newsman says the cold weather is going to be around for a few days.

However, there is no snow yet in Toronto. Further north like in Ottawa, it's very white and beautiful. Right now, it's too cold to snow, but the snow storms will come. Soon enough, the snow ploughs will be humming up and down the streets and the homeowners will be shovelling heavy snow. There is actually a law in Toronto that requires all sidewalks to be cleared after a snow fall. Luckily, senior citizens can have their sidewalks cleared by the city. So right now, is the calm before the storm. Lots of snow brings chaos to the city!

Feel like venturing out this winter, check out the winter activities organized by the city. Toronto's WinterCity Festival starts end of January. Press here.

Related Posts:

Winter in Toronto