Did you know that Karoake translates as ‘empty orchestra’?  Fun fact for the day.

I do have a reason for bringing this up.  There’s a free karaoke maker you can download and use in your class (or in your basement with a bunch of your equally tone-deaf friends).  It’s called AV Video Karaoke Maker.  Now I’m not going to lie to you, there’s a bit of a learning curve with this application.  Also you can’t use it with a mac.  It can be frustrating to use at first, especially when you have to match the timing of the words with the music, but the end product is worth it.  The kids enjoy it and are more likely to sing along with a song when it’s presented in this format.

I’ve personally used it to make a simple ABC karaoke video as well as a more complicated song about weather in French to Rihanna’s umbrella.  Once you’ve made a couple of videos it becomes less stressful and more fun to use.  Feel free to share any videos you create with this tool!

comments:

yijin: hello! what do you mean you studied the wrong topics? thought you had to study everything. anyway i know you’ll do well! when i get all my marks back i’ll break everything down for you all to see…we had to write two essays for English. haha thanks (: yes see you soon! can’t wait!

huimin: haha, i could have done better for Science. oh well. enjoy! Os are over. (: you’ll get good marks, don’t worry! i will! just that i can’t describe everything in detail here haha.

emily: hugs and kisses! how have you been? please don’t kidnap me i don’t want to be tied up!

Os are over yes? congratulations (: you’ve all passed another big step in your lives.

moved house on Saturday. the events:
-movers meant to come at 11. instead arrive at 3.45. said they were doing a big job near Sunbury.

-movers take 5 hours to move everything out from our apartment to the truck.

-movers make me sit outside and watch the truck for 3 hours because they say sometimes people take things from the truck and run away. sit there from 5-7 singing songs and getting weird looks. starts to rain, i get wet. run inside the building because the wind is too cold. still watch the truck until 8+.

-drive to new house. on the way, movers get lost. have to call them.

-get to new house. movers get dinner break. we go out to buy dinner. it is already 9 at night. sister and brother are in new house waiting.

-i’m the only one in the car. Bon Jovi is playing on the radio. i start singing cos i’m bored. movers call and say they want to start work. i don’t get half of what they were saying. parents come back with pizza, drive back to house.

-starts raining again. we go back and forth in the rain to bring the stuff into the house. rain gets heavier. we get wetter and wetter, like sponges. parents stay in the house to bring the stuff in.

-everything is moved into the house by 11. bathroom is leaking like crazy because of the rain. wet floor and wet toilet.

-movers fix everything up (the stuff that they dismantled, like the beds and shoe cabinet). we eat pizza!

-movers finally finish at 11.45. compromise with parents to pay 7 hours instead of 8. total $630. they leave.

-we start sorting out stuff. am so sleepy from camp and illness that i can’t work properly. bathe and drop to sleep at 1.30. don’t know what happens afterwards.

did i mention i was having cough and sore throat? luckily i didn’t get any worse. i pity them movers though.

so there you go. we’re moved.
was late for school today. took the wrong tram. by the time we got the correct one we’d wasted 15 minutes. got to school at 8.45. -.-

i’m blogging in school haha. if you were curious.
2 more weeks of school (excluding this week). i want to go home.

i’m gonna study Hamlet next year. cool.

camp was awesome, i got to ride a super big horse. might put pictures up when i get the chance. got a horseshoe back! (: love the horses. my favourite is Blue. (:

sister had piano recital yesterday. the piano sounded horrible. articulation was…hm. but she played Beethoven well! (:

okay i gotta go so see you soon. i may not blog for long because internet is not up at home yet. please wait for me. comment please, i’ll be happy (: i’ll reply.

聊天 是甜蜜的習慣 把心情都交換 一天才算完
簡單 是我要的浪漫 你語氣有心疼 我就更勇敢
我今天 我明天 最想環遊的世界
就是你 最內心 的世界

Because It’s Tuesday I normally post a non-worded blog with pictures and catchy little titles that say “Because….” and explain the picture or make some comment about the picture.  But today I am not going to do that.  And it isn’t my first Because It’s Tuesday that I haven’t posted pictures.  I’d like to think I am a creature of habit but today has been a little different.  This whole week has been a little different.  My whole life has been a little different and sometimes habit just doesn’t fit.

Today someone I don’t even really know touched my life in a profound way.  Today someone I follow on Twitter had a stroke.  And because of that my thoughts and prayers and worries are currently with her, @AnissaMayhew.  I just recently started following Anissa.  I actually started following her after the twitter birthday party for Maddie.  I started following a lot of new and wonderful people after that wonderful party to celebrate Maddie’s life and her 2nd birthday.  I also started reading Anissa’s blog; and felt as though I was learning who she was.  Now, this tragedy has struck and my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family.  I hope the best for her and I ask that God help her heal quickly and fully.  I hope that I am able to get to know her better and know her like others have talked about her.  And if you want to know what you can do to help, you can go here to AimingLow and find out.  And if you can’t do anything else you can pray.  Pray for Anissa, pray for her family.  #prayersforanissa

And Because It’s Tuesday and I want to be able to move this weekend, I have been packing my house for the last few days. Probably faster than I have ever packed before.  I have thrown things away, put things in the garage sales I have had, boxed things up in totes and basically left the essentials where necessary: clothes, pots and dishes.  In a few cases where glass was involved it has not been “packed” packed because of no packing material and in the case of the television and all the stuff hooked to it, I am leaving that for the husband.  God forbid I mess up the tv and all it’s components.  But in order for all of that to happen the right way there are other things that have to fall into line.  We have to find a place to live in the LA area, I have found a townhome I really like and think will work good for us to start.  Rich is in LA and is looking at places.  I am trusting him to find the right one.  He is sending me what he finds and asking my opinion.  My biggest stickler in the whole thing, the school district.  I have two in school (2nd and 7th grade) and one that will be starting in about 2 years.  I want to be in a good area, or as good as we can find that we can afford.  I am ready to pack everything into my bus (I have a GMC Yukon XL) and just drive me and my kids and my dog and my stuff out there.  I am ready to move, and I am working it so I can.  And Rich if you read this, I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY like that townhome.  I don’t know why but I can’t get it out of my head.  I have looked back over the list you sent me and that one just clicks.  And I am sure you know from Twitter if you have seen my tweets that it is 22 minutes for JustOneMiss.  So that is a PLUS!!

Also Because It’s Tuesday I watched So You Think You Can Dance, after I DVRed it and then voted as I watched the couples dance.  I really like Russell but some of the others are growing on me.  If you watched tonight I voted for Couples 2, 4, and 6.  Don’t ask me who they were cause I don’t remember off the top of my head while I am sitting downstairs in my bedroom and the TV and the DVR are upstairs in the Media room and I am too lazy to look but I can tell you one couple was Russell and Noelle.  And yeah that’s all I remember…..the other may have been Ryan and Ellenore and the other may have been your guess is as good as mine.  I just remember it was couples 2, 4, and 6.

And finally Because It’s Tuesday and I feel the need there is this:

其實有時覺得，我才是最虛偽的那一個。

機會率是多麼令人頹喪，但我不想相信決定論。

上天沒有所謂註定不註定，”偶然”是我們一個個編出來的爛透謊話，僅此而已。

You guys probably already know that I love Noisetrade. A few months ago, I saw that one of the albums on the website was by a musician named Salim Nourallah. I thought, “Oh! Maybe he’s from the Middle East!” and downloaded his album. I tried to find out whether he was Arab and got this from Salim’s website:

“i was born in alton, illinois. eldest child of fayez and karen. my mom was an art major, dad an accountant. opposites attract and then raise dysfunctional children. my brother faris was born just 18 months after me. he plays music too. in 1970 our family moved to el paso, i was just 3. our names were strange and to the general amusement of other kids i wore big glasses. they made fun of me alot. boohoo…when i was 9 i saw the beatles white album in k-mart. i got my grandmother to buy it for me. it changed my life. when i was 16 i started writing songs. brother faris was the only one who believed they were worth a crap. faris started playing drums. i played guitar. F sold his car for a drumkit then moved to guitar. i moved to bass. then we moved to denton, texas. we hated denton. the nourallah brothers made our self-titled debut in 1999 on an 8-track recorder then quit playing music together. faris has released several solo cds since then. i’ve had 3 full-length solo cds come out since 2004: polaroid (2004); beautiful noise (2005) and snowing in my heart (2007) plus the a way to your heart ep (2004), live at pleasantry lane (2007) and ciphers from snowing (2008). i just completed work on my latest cd with billy harvey in austin. it’s called “constellation” and will be released in europe by tapete records in the spring of 2009. i also have a wife (jayme) and son (gavin). they are the most important people in my life.”

So it sounds like his dad is Arab but that’s it. Now to the album ”Ciphers From Snowing”:

The songs are catchy enough, but forgettable and blend together like a bland, white paste. “Snowing In My Heart” had good intentions but comes off as cheesy; “Don’t Be Afraid” is what some would call “uplifting” while “Overwhelmed” sounds like something you’d hear as a character from a drama on TV has a meltdown . The music is fine and the vocals are decent however it’s Salim’s limited vocabulary that really makes this a limp, unoriginal work. It leaves me wishing that his music was as cool as his surname…or at least as crazy-fun as his suite…

You can get the album on www.noisetrade.com. What do you think of it?

Remember just let it slide,
Oh baby, just keep on smiling, just smile.

u2

bono

the edge with his gear

need i say more?

1. MEW – 156

“Don’t you just love goodbyes?”

From my boat, i can see your house
And when the lights are on
I can watch you move
Hear the wind whispering your name
Twice the encouragement of the real you

Callie, if you really want me to
I can always get you down
If you got the money for me
Callie, in the summer rain
You and me can dry, you see
If you got the money for me

Making amends for distant wrongs, sincere

You can run away
Leave your books behind you
But you should look back twice
Just to be on the safe side

From my boat i can see your house
But now the lights are off
There’s no one home

You are just like an avalanche
Cold as I might have guessed
But at least I’m covered up for now

In a big big way i am really small
I get off my feet but i’m still distant

Don’t you just love goodbyes?
Don’t you just love goodbyes?

Callie, let us get it over with
I can always get you down
If you’ve got the money for me
Callie in the summer rain
You and me can dry, you see
If you’ve got the money for me

Most of our lives we try so hard to find the time

I won’t care for you
Like I’m really supposed to
There are things I’ll do
That could really hurt you

Don’t you just love goodbyes?
Don’t you just love goodbyes?
156
Don’t you just love goodbyes?
156

2. THE XX – NIGHT TIME

“We’ll talk about it soon”

You mean that much to me and it’s hard to show
It gets hectic inside of me when you go
Can I confess these things to you
Well I don’t know
Embedded in my chest and it hurts to hold

I couldn’t spill my heart
My eyes gleam looking in from the dark
I walk out in stormy weather
Hope my words keep us together
Steady walking but bound to trip
Should release but just tighten my grip

Night time
Sympathize
I’ve been working on white lies
So I’ll tell the truth
I’ll give it up to you
And when the day comes it will all have been fun
We’ll talk about it soon

And I couldn’t spill my heart
My eyes gleam looking in from the dark
I walk out in stormy weather
Hope my words keep us together
Steady walking but bound to trip
Should release but just tighten my grip

Night time
Sympathize
I’ve been working on white lies
So I’ll tell the truth
I’ll give it up to you
And when the day come it will have all been fun
We’ll talk about it soon

3. TWILIGHT SINGERS – FORTY DOLLARS

“She Loves You, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah”

suckers swallow every time, airplane come erase your mind
seems there’s been an accident, telephone cost ya fifty cent
to find out the retail, gory detail
nothing here for me, i get all of my kicks for free

mangy dog without a collar, buy me love for forty dollars
i got love for sale, come on get some before it gets stale
again, i win, the double for a lie, i get my money on the fly
we’re throwin’ down, so come on by, i’ll be around

i got 3-6-9, another dollar makes a dime
y’all in double dutch again, notify your next of kin, i said

mangy dog without a collar, buy me love for forty dollars
i got love for sale, come on get some before it gets stale
now, love don’t mean a thing, but 2am and a telephone ring

love is all you need, and all you need is love
love is all you need, and all you need is love
we go underground, cos there’s emptiness above
she loves you yeah-yeah-yeah
she loves you yeah-yeah-yeah
she loves you yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah

i’m just bein’
i’m just bein’
i’m just bein’
i’m just bein’
honest

4. THE NATIONAL – BRAINY

“You might need me more than you think you will”

I’ve been draggin around from the end of your coat for two weeks
Everywhere you go is swirlin, everything you say has water under it

You know I keep your fingerprints in a pink folder in the middle of my table
You’re the tall kingdom I surround
Think I better follow you around

You might need me more than you think you will
Come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy

I’ve been draggin around from the end of your coat for two weeks
You keep changing you’re fancy fancy mind every time I decide to let go

I was up all night again, boning up and reading the American dictionary
You’ll never believe me what I found
Think I better follow you around

You might need me more than you think you will
Come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy
you might need me more than you think you will
come home in the car you love, brainy brainy brainy

5. LONGWAVE – SIRENS IN THE DEEP SEA

“You’re the only one that can”

I’ve been trying to reach you, oh
I’ve trying to get through, oh
It’s so hard to let you know
I’ve been trying, yes, it’s true, oh

You’re the only one that can
The lonely one again
You’re the only one that can
You are alone

I’ve been swimming in the deep sea
Sirens come up to greet me
But it’s not so good to be

The only one that can
The lonely once again
You’re the only one that can
You are alone

You’re the only one that can
The lonely one again
You’re the only one that can
You are alone

You’re the only one that can
The lonely once again
You’re the only one that can
You are alone
You are alone

S.I.T Wolf X

Yo yo yo we’re kickin’ it old school today.  This rad application has been around for a long time but that doesn’t mean educators should toss it aside because it’s still h-o-t.  Hot Potatoes actually…

Hot Potatoes is freeware that educators can use to create games and other review tools.  Just visit their site and download the free software right onto your computer and start using the 6 applications that come with it.  As it says on the site, Hot Potatoes “enables you to create interactive multiple-choice, short-answer, jumbled-sentence, crossword, matching/ordering and gap-fill exercises”.

My personal favorite thing to do with Hot Potatoes is creating cloze activities with the gap-fill option.  I’ve used this to create basic grammar drills and I’ve also used it for cloze song activities.  I take lyrics from French songs and then create blanks with drop-down menus for students to complete.  Once again, this is a fun tool that becomes even better when you throw in an interactive whiteboard.

Here’s a link to another teacher who has used this tool in a very impressive way, mostly with music.

I need You, Lord

I need You, Lord

right now…

I need You, Lord

I need You, Lord

right now…

I lift my hands

and bow my knees

and worship at Your throne

I need You, Lord

I need You, Lord

right now…

I just saw this video a few hours ago on MTV Arabia. I really like it. I think it’s one of the best Arabic music videos I’ve ever seen. Not extremely corny with a guy singing something like “the color of the sky doesn’t please you, I’ll erase it and re-color it, stars fall, I’ll hang them back up again, the important thing is that you laugh”. (Yeah, it rhymes in Arabic.)

Anyhoo, here tis:

P.S. Even if you don’t speak Arabic, have a look – it’s art.

As I have said before I met my husband Richard online back in 1998.  As our conversations grew from friendly to more romantic he told me he had a song that he listened to daily to remind him of me, because all if it was true.  That song was I Want You by Third Eye Blind.  I haven’t heard the song in quite some time but it was on the radio today and without even so much as a thought, tears rolled down my checks because when I hear it, it reminds me that he loves me:

The suckers loose themselves in the games they love to play,
Children love to sing but then their voices slowly fade away.
People always take a step away from what is true,
That’s why I like you around, I want you.

At the time I started talking to Richard I was going through my separation and divorce from my ex.  He was definitely playing a game.  I had Robert and he kept me going.  Richard was the most true and straight forward thing in my life at that time.  I loved talking to him, I couldn’t wait to hear his voice.

Oh you do, You do, You do, You do,
You do, You do, You do, You do
You make me want you.

And I did.  I hadn’t met him in person, only seen pictures, but I wanted him.  He made me feel safe, he made me feel important.  And the sexual pull was strong.

An open invitation to the dance,
Happenstance set the vibe that we are in,
No apology because my urge is genuine,
And the mystery of your rhythm is so feminine.
Here I am and I want to take a hit of your scent ’cause it gets so deep into my soul
Ooh I want you

We would talk for hours on the phone.  So many times I wanted to say; I love you, I want you, I need you.  But we had discussed it and had decided that regardless how either of us “thought” we felt we were not going to say the words “I love you” until we had met in person, were sure we felt the pull that it seemed we had over the chats and phone conversations.

Yeah you do, You do, You do, You do
You do, You do, You do, You do
You make me want you.
Oh you do, You do, You do, You do
You do, You do, You do, You do
I want you.

Then the email came with the reservation for his flight.  I was the happiest and most scared person on the face of the earth the day he told me he was coming to see me.  What if he didn’t like me?  What if he got here and everything was different than on the phone?  What if?

(Send me all your vampires)

He listened to it all; the good and bad with my ex, the good and bad with my mom, the good and bad in my life.  All of my vampires.

And I can’t get enough, you you you you
Oh I can’t get enough
Oh I can’t get enough Oh oh, I I I I

And chats and conversations were heated and sexual.  The closer he got to visiting, the more I worried and the more excited I grew.  I felt like I was 12 years old with a crush.

The village churchyard is filled with bones sleeping in their graves,
The silver lining of the clouds shines on people Jesus couldn’t save
You want to know how deeply my soul goes
Deeper than bones, Deeper than bones

I knew that even if he came to visit, even if the feeling wasn’t there after we finally met; that I would forever have a friend.

And I can’t get enough. I I I I
Oh I can’t get enough, you you you you
Oh I can’t get enough

And we talked and talked; online in chats, on the phone for hours, at work, at home.  I could not get enough of him.  I would hear his voice and everything would melt away.  Everything would be right.  And then the day came when he arrived in Florida.  I don’t think I have ever been so nervous or scarred in my life (maybe the birth of my first born).   On the drive to Orlando airport (2 hours from my house) I turned around and headed home twice; but both times turned back around for the airport.  His plane was delayed due to weather; and we he finally walked off the plane my heart skipped a beat and I knew he was the “one”.  It was love at first sight as cliché as that might sound.  I was completely nervous, walking fast, shaking, feeling nauseated.  We got his bag, went to my car and then he kissed me.

After we did it by the windowsill,
Smoke rings drifted through the midnight sky,
Presently in the quilt that your mother made,
A bare candle burns to fight off the gloom,
You said to live this way is not for the meek, (Send me all your vampires)
And like a jazz DJ you talk me into sleep,
I said there will be no regrets when the worms come, (Send me all your vampires)
And they shall surely come.

Although I had Robert with me at the airport and hotel, our first night together was everything I thought it would be.  I could not relax, I was so nervous.  My stomach turned, I shook.  And I knew I was in love.  But did he feel the same? What if he just came to visit? What if it was only for the sex?  What if?  And the sex, was as good as I thought it would be.

Oh You do, You do, You do, You do,
You do, You do, You do, You do
Make me want you
(Send me all your vampires) (That’s right)
Yeah I do, I do,I do, You do,
You do, You do, You do, You do
You make a me want you

We spent four fabulous days together and we he left, I didn’t want to let go.  I cried the whole drive home from the airport, made him promise he would call me when he got home.  My phone rang that night when he arrived home; and again we spent the hours on the phone, everything was the same only now, we couldn’t get enough of each other.  And we had both said “I love you” and meant it.

(Send me all your vampires)

And he bared with me through my divorce and it’s finalization so I could move to Texas.

I want you

And we still wanted each other.

(Send me all your vampires)

And I did, I unleashed everything on him; and he took it and made me stronger.

I want you

And I still want him.  As much as I did that first day I saw him.  We have had some ups, and we have had some downs; but I know with every ounce of my being that I love him and he is THE “one”.

(Send me all your vampires)

Because I still have plenty of them.  Plenty of vampires that he is willing to take.
There will be no regrets when the worms come

Not a one, I wouldn’t change any bit of my life nor do I regret anything that has happened in it.  Things and people happen to us for reasons, many we might not understand; and I am so grateful that he was one of those things and people.

(Send me all your vampires)

And now that I have fought many of mine (and there are plenty), now that I am dealing with my vampires; I am strong enough with his help to face the rest that will come.

There are times when everyone annoys you to no end. Especially when you’re feeling really tired. When all you need is a hug and someone to tell you it’s okay.

Thank god for YouTube.

I’ve never heard this song by Michael Buble before. It’s so simple but it lifts my heart so, special mention(:

Hehe I watched his music video for Haven’t Met You Yet and can sort of conclude he can’t really act that well. Not that I mind, because he more than makes up for it through his voice and lyrics.

-

So today I left school (PW) for ECP where I found sort of a good spot for the kids’ outing this month. I think planning will be crazy but am looking forward to it! After that Papa and I had ice kachang and chendol at the food village. Papa totally satisfied my food cravings today. I finally had chicken rice and chendol and otak-otak (the pedas kind not the mild cheat-your-feelings kind).

Am looking at my raya money looks quite substantial. Shall take them out and put it somewhere safe taa

Hola!  So why did I title this entry as “I like music”?  One reason is because it is the only thing I ever learned to say in Spanish.  The other is because this post features a youtube music video created by a high school Spanish class.  It’s a great video to show when teaching reflexive verbs.  It’s also a great idea for any language teachers who are looking for a way to incorporate movie making into their curriculum.  I’m sure the students who made this video will never forgot how to conjugate Spanish reflexive verbs, and no doubt they had a great time filming it.  Enjoy!