Bookaholic: A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM by Shakespeare

This magical play comprises five acts in which Shakespeare makes us let our imagination run wild in a forest full of mithological creatures such as Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies. This plays focuses on two lovers, Hermia and Lisander who run away to a nearby wood in Athens. They are followed by Helena and Demetrius. The cause of their escape is that Hermia's father, Egeus, wants her to marry someone she doesn't love. Meanwhile, Oberon is aware of this and decides to play a trick on the lovers by pouring some sort of love potion in their ears. The result is a real love confusion among these fours characters while all the fascinating creatures have a good time watching them arguing and having trouble with each other. Finally love is restored.

Lysander : Ay, by my life; and never did desire to see thee more; therefore be out of hope, of question, of doubt; be certain, nothing truer: tis no jest; that I do hate thee, and love Helena.

Hermia: O me, you juggler, you canker-blossom, you thief of love; what, have you come by night, and stolen my love's heart from him?

Helena : Fine i' faith: have you no modesty, no maiden shame, no touch of bashfulness? What, will you tear impatient answers from my gentle tongue? Fie, fie, you counterfeit, you puppet, you.

Grammar spot : What do you look like?

When describing someone's physical appearances we must bear in mind a few words concerning physical descripton. Every question has its answer as follows:

What do you look like? (Cómo eres?)
I am tall and thin. / I am short and fat
How tall are you? / What height are you?
I am 5.8 feet tall / I'm one metre seventy tall
How much do you weigh?/ What do you weigh?
65 kg
What color are your eyes?
My eyes are blue color
I have long brunette hair  (pelo largo castaño) / straight hair (pelo liso) / curly hair (rizado) /crew-cut hair (pelo rapado) / pony tail (cola) / bun (moño) / plaits (trenzas)
To lose weight (perder peso) / to slim (adelgazar)
To put on weight (ganar peso) / to get fat (engordar)
To gain height (ganar altura) / to lose height (perder altura)

What are you like? <== To ask about personality
I am a shy person (soy una persona tímida) / I'm an extrovert person (extrovertido)

How would you describe yourself? <== This question could refer to both - as it is explained above - and could prevent you from making a mistake when it is not that clear.

Topic: Yankees win

After reading about the American Civil War a few days ago, it crossed my mind that I should write about it or at least some remarks.

When we refer to the American War - well, is known by everybody that the USA has been involved in a few (the war of Independance, the I & II World War) - I mean the one which brought the Unionists and the Confederacy face to face (it is also known as the War between the States) . This war lasted for 5 years - 1861-65 - and the cause was that eleven southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy", which was led by Jefferson Davis. They fought agains the Unionists, which formed the free states. Abraham Lincoln, president of the Republican Party, campaigned against slavery and tried to stop it from going beyond the borders.

Seven Deep South cotton states seceded by February 1861, starting with South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These seven states formed the Confederate States of America (February 4, 1861), with Jefferson Davis as president. Hostilities by the Conferedate forces in South Carolina lighted the fuse.

There were about 620,000 dead soldiers. Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States.

Music: Shania Twain "Leaving is the only way out"

Shania has recently reported she has lost her ability to sing and after losing her voice, as she has said, she doesnt feel comfortable singing in front of people any more :(

LEAVING IS THE ONLY WAY OUT
I'm not sayin' I have all the answers
And I don't care who's right or wrong
I'm tryin' to pick up the pieces already fallen
And put them back where they belong

So slow down your horses
Stop draggin' me around
And if cryin' is the only way into your heart
Then leavin' is the only way out

We've slammed every door in anger
And we've opened wounds we can't mend
And one night lonely is one night too many
Don't wanna wake up to one more night that won't end

So slow down your horses
Stop draggin' me around
And if cryin' is the only way into your heart
Then leavin' is the only way out

When late nights and long lies came knockin'
You just invited them in
And our voices got too loud for talkin'
Then my heart hit the floor
But your feet just kept walkin'

And if cryin' is the only way you hear me hurtin'
For the lovin' that I can't live without
And if lovin' ain't the only way into your heart
Then leavin' is the only way out

Music: All Saints "Pure shores"

I've crossed the deserts for miles
Swam water for time
Searching places to find
A piece of something to call mine
(I'm coming)
A piece of something to call mine
(I'm coming)
(I'm coming)
Coming closer to you

Went along many moors
Walked through many doors
The place where I wanna be
Is the place I can call mine
(I'm coming)
Is the place I can call mine
(I'm coming)
(I'm coming)
Coming closer to you

I'm moving
I'm coming
Can you hear, what I hear
It's calling you my dear
Out of reach
(Take me to my beach)
I can hear it, calling you
I'm coming not drowning
Swimming closer to you

Never been here before
I'm intrigued, I'm unsure
I'm searching for more
I've got something thats all mine
I've got something thats all mine

Take me somewhere I can breathe
I've got so much to see
This is where I want to be
In a place I can call mine
In a place I can call mine

I'm moving
I'm coming
Can you hear, what I hear
It's calling you my dear
Out of reach
(Take me to my beach)
I can hear it, calling you
I'm coming not drowning
Swimming closer to you

Moving, coming
Can you hear what I hear?
(Hear it out of reach)
I hear it calling you
Swimming closer to you

Many faces I have seen
Many places I have been
Walked the deserts, swam the shores
(Coming closer to you)
Many faces I have know
Many way in which I've grown
Moving closer on my own
(Coming closer to you)

I move it
I feel it
I'm coming
Not drowning

I move it
I feel it
I'm coming
Not drowning

I'm moving
I'm coming
Can you hear, what I hear
It's calling you my dear
Out of reach
(Take me to my beach)
I can hear it, calling you
I'm coming not drowning
Swimming closer to you
(Take me to my beach)

I'm moving
I'm coming
Can you hear, what I hear
It's calling you my dear
Out of reach
(Take me to my beach)
I can hear it, calling you
I'm coming not drowning
Swimming closer to you
(Take me to my beach)

Miscellaneous : Nursery games

Who hasn't played hide and seek or I Spy in our childhood? Here are some games we've all played for sure :

I Spy with my little eye, something that begins with ... (a letter )  ==> VEO, VEO

Eenie, Meenie, Miny, Moe ===> PITO, PITO, GORGORITO
Catch the tiger by the toe
if it hollers let him go
Eenie Meenie Miny Moe
You are it!

To play hide and seek = jugar al escondite

To play blindman's buff = jugar a la gallinita ciega

History: Queen Elizabeth I

We're about to date back to the 16th century, when Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne after her stepsister's death. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn's daughter had always had differences with Queen Mary I as for religious issues. The English Church experienced a thorough change during her reign although her cousin's shadow, Mary Queen of Scots, floated around her (something she could not take).
Here's an excerpt taken from Wikipedia about Queen Elizabeth I:

The reign of Elizabeth restored a sort of order to the realm following the turbulence of the reigns of Edward and Mary when she came to the throne following the death of Mary in 1558. The religious issue which had divided the country since Henry VIII was in a way put to rest by the Elizabethan Religious Settlement, which re-established the Church of England. Much of Elizabeth's success was in balancing the interests of the Puritans and Catholics. She managed to offend neither to a large extent, although she clamped down on Catholics towards the end of her reign as war with Catholic Spain loomed. The war lasted from 1585 - 1603. In 1588, the Spanish Armada was decisively defeated, marking the beginning of England's rise as a naval power. Indecisive skirmishing continued throughout the 1590's, with English privateers pillaging Spanish commerce from America.

The queen ran afoul of her cousin Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a devote Catholic and had been forced to abdicate her throne as a consequence ( Scotland had recently become Protestant ). She fled to England, where Elizabeth immediately had her arrested. She was eventually tried for treason and sentenced to death, being beheaded in February 1587.

Elizabeth died in 1603. Her closest male Protestant relative was the King of Scots, James VI, of the House of Stuart, who became King James I of England in a Union of the Crowns.

to date back = remontarse ( a un tiempo pasado)
stepsister = hermanastra
thorough = completo
realm = reino
to clamp down on = tomar medidas drásticas contra
to loom = telar, avecinarse (en este caso)
skirmish = escaramuza
to flee = huir
treason = traición
to behead = decapitar
relative = pariente