Waking Life - listening part 2.

'Waking Life' once again - part two - this time about lucid dreaming. The listening takes around 5 minutes - quite long, I know. But really worth the effort. As previously, you will get the answers in the next post. 

Good luck!

              I had a friend once who told me...

              that the worst mistake that you could make...

              is to think that you are alive...

              when really you'’re asleep in 1).......................

              The trick is to combine...

              your waking rational abilities...

              with the 2)......................... of your dreams.

              'Cause if you can do that, you can do anything.

              Did you ever have a job that you hated and worked real hard at?

              A long, hard day of work. Finally you get to go home, get in bed, 

              close your eyes.

              And immediately you wake up and realize...

              that the whole day at work had been a dream.

              It's bad enough that you sell your waking life for-- for 3)..........              ...........

              but now they get your dreams for free.

              Hey, man, what are you doing here?

              I 4).................... the social lubricator of the dream world,

              helping people become lucid a little easier.

              Cut out all that fear and 5)............................. and just               rock and roll.

              By becoming lucid, you mean just knowing that you’re dreaming, 

              right?

              Yeah. And then you can control it.

              They're more realistic and 6)............... than non-lucid dreams.

              You know, I just woke from a dream.

              It wasn't like a typical dream. It seemed more like I'd walked into              an 7)..........................

              Yeah, it's real.

              I mean, technically, it's a phenomenon of sleep,

              but you can have so much damn fun in your dreams.

              And, of course, everyone knows fun rules.

              - Yeah. -So what was going on in your dream?

              Oh. A lot of people. A lot of talking.

              Some of it was kind of absurdist, like from a strange movie or some              thing.

              Mostly, it was just people 8)............... about whatever, really 

              intensely.

              I woke up wondering, where did all this stuff come from?

              - You can control that. - Do you have these dreams all the time?

              Hell, yeah. I'm always gonna make the best of it.

              But the trick is, you got to realize that you're dreaming 9).......              .....................

              You got to be able to recognize it.

              You got to be able to ask yourself, " Hey, man, is this a dream?"

              Most people never ask themselves that...

              when they're 10)............ or especially when they're asleep.

              Seems like everyone's 11)............ through their waking state...

              or wake walking through their dreams.

              Either way they're not gonna get much out of it.

              The thing that snapped me into realizing I was dreaming was, uh-- 

              was my digital clock.

              I couldn't really read it. It was like the circuitry was all 

              screwed up or something.

              Yeah, that's real common. And small printed material is pretty 

              tough too.

              Very 12)...............

              Another good tip-off is trying to adjust light levels.

              You can't really do that.

              If you see a 13)................... nearby, turn it on and off and               see if it works.

              That's one of the few things you can't do in a lucid dream.

              What the hell. I can fly around,

              have an interesting conversation with Albert Schweitzer.

              I can explore all these new 14)..........................,

              not to mention I can have any kind of sex I want, which is way cool.

              So I can't adjust light levels. So what?

              But that's one of the things you do to test if you’re dreaming 

              or not, right?

              Yeah, like I said, you can totally train yourself to recognize it.

              I mean, just hit a light switch every now and then.

              If the lights are on and you can't turn them off, then most likely               you’'re dreaming.

              And then you can get down to business.

              And believe me, it's unlimited.

              - Hey, you know what I've been working on lately? - What's that?

              Oh, man, it's way ambitious, but I'm getting better at it.

              You're gonna 15)................this. Three-sixty vision, man.

              I can see in all directions. Pretty cool, huh?

              Yeah. Wow.

              Well, I got to go, man.

              Okay, later, man. Super perfundo on the early eve of your day.

              - What's that mean? - Well, you know, I never figured it out.

              Maybe you can. This guy always 16).................... into my ear.

              Louis. He's a recurring dream character.

source: google images, youtube.

confusing words - part one: illegible vs unreadable.

ILLEGIBLE vs UNREADABLE

ILLEGIBLE - difficult or impossible to read.

[ɪ`ledʒɪbl]

Your son's handwriting is illegible.

The notice on the wall was so stained and dirty that it was illegible.

UNREADABLE - an unreadable book or piece of writing is difficult to read because it is boring or complicated

[ʌn`ri:dəbl]

I started her latest novel but gave up after twenty pages. It was simply unreadable. (boring)

His report is totally unreadable. Could it be reworded so that non-professionals might understand it as well? (complicated)

source: google images.

More idioms about success and....Steve Jobs.

Let's focus on something pleasurable today - SUCCESS:)

In English you can describe success in many different ways, it can be:

        remarkable,                       outstanding,                   enormous,                            remendous,        overnight,                 marvelous,              howling, 

              roaring,                      resounding

or

   limited,                qualified             and               modest.

There are of course countless idioms expressing success or failure:

alive and kicking

(also be alive and well) to continue to be well, healthy or successful.

1. Don't worry about your grandfather; he is alive and kicking. 2. Classical music is still alive and kicking among youngsters

back the wrong horse

to support someone or something that later cannot be successful.

Don't back the wrong horse! You know he cannot win the elections.

count one's chickens before they hatch

To assume success too early, before it is certain.

It's too soon to cry victory. Don't count your chicken before they hatch!

dead loss

something described as a dead loss is absolutely unsuccessful or useless (a complete failure)

When it comes to math, my sisiter is a dead loss.

dog-eat-dog

said about a world where people do anything to be successful.

It's disheartening to know that we are living in a dog-eat-dog world.

every dog has its day

everyone has a time of success and satisfaction.

You may become successful in your business someday. Every dog has his day.

green-eyed monster

envy, jealousy, covetousness

1. "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock The meat it feeds on." William Shakespeare 2. His success aroused the green-eyed monster in his friend.

hit a home run

to be successful.

They hit a home run with their excellent performance in the new play.

home free

to be certain of being successful because you have finished the most difficult part.

Once you hand in the last part of your dissertation, you're home free.

I'll eat my hat

said to suggest that you will be surprised if something happens.

If his business becomes successful, I'll eat my hat.

in the bag

Certain or extremely likely to occur; assured about the success of something.

Don't worry about the final exam. It's in the bag.

put one's shoulder to the wheel

to start hard work; to begin to toil.

Just put your shoulder to the wheel. If you keep working hard, you’ll be successful one day!

the mother of all

an extreme example which is the biggest, most impressive, or most important of its kind.

Failure is the mother of all success.

There are also numerous synonyms for 'successful':

prosperous

thriving

flourishing

lucky

fortunate

triumphant

victorious

famous

wealthy

profitable

rewarding

lucrative

favourable

When you want to ask about the key of someone's success, you can say:

'What's your passport/pass/ticket/ to success?

And now, why Steve Jobs? Well, if the mother of success is failure, the father will be...? ;)

Apart from my innocent infatuation to him ;), I've found some of his rules of success really inspiring and universal. Just have a look:

1. Do what you love to do. (like: learn English!)

2. Be different. (Well...only if you want;)

3. Do your best. (Obviously!)

4. Start small, think big. ( The bigger the better.)

5. Ask for feedback. (To ask is no sin.)

6. Learn from failures. (What else can you do, right?)

7. Learn continually. (Yeah, we know.)

“Your time is limited. Don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drowned your own inner voice. And, most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” Steve Jobs

Stay successful and...tuned ;)

source: google images;www.myenglishpages.com.

British humour - (part 1: Olympic jokes)

Lately, I've got really inspired by one of your comments (thank you dziobas:) concerning the recent Olympics...

      I decided to share my best findings with you. Some of them are just hilarious:

Two Englishmen Meet a German Tourist at the London Olympics

A German competitor was lost, and wanted directions to the Olympic village in Stratford, London.  He was standing outside East Ham tube station when he saw two lads walking by so he stops them and asks,  'Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?'  

The two lads look at each other blankly and stare back at the German.

'Excusez-moi, parlez vous Français?' He tries.

The two continue to stare.

'Parlare Italiano?' Still absolutely no response from the two lads.

'Hablan ustedes Espanol?' The London lads remain totally silent.

The German Olympian walks off extremely disappointed and downhearted that he had not been understood.  One of the boys turns to the second and says, 'You know, maybe we should learn a foreign language!'

'Why?' says the youth, 'That German guy knew four languages, and it didn't do him any good!'

Five Best, Clean and Interesting Quotes by Olympians

1. I was not talented enough to run and smile at the same time - Emil Zatopek, champion Czechoslovakian distance runner, when asked about unusual facial expression when running.
2. The swimming and diving were held in part of the old moat ... it was the clammiest, darkest place and the water was frigid.  It looked bottomless and black - Alice Landon, American Diver, on facilities at the Antwerp Games of 1920.
3. One shouldn't be afraid to lose; this is sport. One day you win; another day you lose. Of course, everyone wants to be the best.  This is normal. This is what sport is about. This is why I love it. - Oksana Baiul, Olympic Gold Medalist
4. All I've done is run fast. I don't see why people should make much fuss about that - Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen, who won four gold medals at the 1948 Games
5. To anyone who has started out on a long campaign believing that the gold medal was destined for him, the feeling when, all of a sudden, the medal has gone somewhere else is quite indescribable. - Sebastian Coe, after losing the 800m final in 1980.

Five Fabulous Funny Short Olympic Jokes

1. Former President Bush gave a rousing inspirational speech yesterday to the USA Olympics Fencing team. Bush told the athletes, 'Now go out there and build that fence.' - Conan O'Brien
2. Nastia Luikin won the gold in the woman's all-around event in gymnastics. The competition was nasty, but she was Nastia.
3. Why isn't sun tanning an Olympic sport? 
   Because the best you can ever get is bronze.
4. A javelin thrower called Vicky 
   Found the grip of her javelin sticky. 
   When it came to the throw 
   She couldn't let go 
   Making judging the distance quite tricky.
5. Heard on the BBC News: 'The Olympic Countdown Clock has stopped, I think it's a wind-up.'   

10 Funny Olympic Commentating Howlers

1. The Republic of China - back in the Olympic Games for the first time.
2. And the line up for the final of the Women's 400 metres hurdles includes three Russians, two East Germans, a Pole, a Swede and a Frenchman.  (Guy had to read the last word again FrenchMAN?)
3. That's the fastest time ever run - but it's not as fast as the world record.
4. Old Olympic skiers never die. They just go downhill.
5. Paralympics: 'They're making great strides with their swimming'.
6. The late start for this final is due to the time.
7. Watch the time - it gives you an indication of just how fast they are running (Ron Pickering).
8. Basketball analyst: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition does not like it.  In fact you can see it all over their faces". 
9. You won't win silver medals at the Olympic Games unless you're the very, very best. - Pat Glenn, weightlifting commentator.

source: google images, http://www.guy-sports.com/olympics/london_olympics_jokes.htm

Isles of Wonder - (national anthems - part 2)

Welcome back after a short break:) 

I hope you enjoyed the Olympics ( together with the opening and closing ceremony - unfortunately, it was the only thing I managed to watch:/ but having read all headlines (and not only that;) in the leading UK papers today, I suppose London truly rocked the world during those last 17 days. And when the British say "it was not bad, really quite good, in fact", it  means it was absolutely fabulous!

And how surprising is it that the Americans are triumphant again with the total of 104 medals ? :) 

It's high time we had a look at their national anthem and quite elaborate, (I'd say), vocabulary in the lyrics.

Let's not waste such a beautiful occasion to learn some new words ;)

The Star Spangled Banner 

Oh, say! can you see by the dawn's early light 
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming; 
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, 
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there: 
Oh, say! does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? 

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep, 
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, 
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep, 
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses? 
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, 
In fully glory reflected now shines in the stream: 
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh, long may it wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! 

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore 
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion 
A home and a country should leave us no more? 
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution! 
No refuge could save the hireling and slave 
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave: 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. scued land 
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust": 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

Oh, thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand 
Between their loved home and the war's desolation! 
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-re


Congratulations!!!

source: google images, youtube, the independent.