Christmas tale by Paul Auster in the movie Smoke

Here is the video that goes with Paul Auster's Auggie Wren's Christmas Story



Listen to Paul Auster reading the story

A few questions about THE KITE RUNNER

I would like you to finish reading THE KITE RUNNER over Christmas.
Here are a few questions that we will discuss afer the holiday:

1. Who suffers the most in The Kite Runner?

2. What did you like about Baba? Dislike about him? How was he different in the U.S. than in Afghanistan? Did he love Amir?

3. How did learning that Hassan was Baba's son change your understanding of Baba?

4. Why did Amir act so hatefully toward Hassan after he saw him get raped? Why did Hassan still love Amir?

5. Did Amir ever redeem himself?

6. Throughout the story, Baba worries because Amir never stands up for himself. When does this change?

7. Why is Amir afraid to be Hassan's true friend? Why does Amir constantly test Hassan's loyalty? Why does he resent Hassan? After the kite running tournament, why does Amir no longer want to be Hassan's friend?

8. Complete this sentence with one word. ‘The Kite Runner is a novel about ____________________’ Explain why you selected this word.

9. How are women portrayed in The Kite Runner?

10. Discuss the importance of religion in the book – of reading, storytelling and writing.

11. Is the ending a happy ending? Why/Why not?

Saving Namibia's Cheetahs

Are you finding 'A safari to save the big cats' a bit difficult?
Watching this video about Namibia's Cheetahs might help.

What's in your Coke?

'Jeremy Paxman is an English journalist, broadcaster and author. He has worked for the BBC since 1977, and is known for his forthright and abrasive interviewing style, particularly when interrogating politicians. His regular appearances on the BBC Two's Newsnight programme have been criticised as aggressive, intimidating and condescending, and also applauded as tough and incisive'.(Wikipedia)

Do you like his style?



Will you drink Coca-Cola again?

Travel videos

You have a chance to watch these videos again.

American Trains


Flying with Confidence

An excellent chef among us

Thanksgiving is nearly here. Guess who made these tarts. Sorry, pies.

Travel Trends

The Marian Finucane Show is an Irish radio programme, presented by Marian Finucane.
The programme previews the newspapers of the day and continues on with interviews, human interest stories, consumer and lifestyle news as well as panel discussions on issues of the week.

Today travel writer with the Irish Times - Joan Scales joins Marian to talk about travel trends

The Kite Runner author: Khaled Hosseini

Are you into the story yet?
Meet Khaled Hosseini, the writer. Listen to his story and learn about the background to The Kite Runner.

(You may want to skip the first 6 minutes. It's just the intoduction)

The American woman who cost a king his throne

What was the big scandal in Britain in 1936?
Watch the video and find out.

Documentary: Afghanistan - the unknown Country (part 1/5)

For a decade and more, one country has dominated the news headlines more than most - Afghanistan. Mention this country and what comes to mind? Probably Taliban and terrorism, burkas and beards. But Afghanistan is much more. Beyond the headlines of war, there is another country where ancient traditions endure and a new country is emerging, says Lyse Doucet.

1. Afghans celebrate their new year, Nawroz, on 21 March, the first day of spring. Thousands travel to the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif to welcome in Nawroz, a pre-Islamic festival. Local strong men raise a great Janda, an Islamic banner, to herald the beginning of spring and the start of the new year. If it is lifted in one smooth motion, it is seen as a good omen for the months to come. (You have to hold on to something when you live in a country that has already survived more than 30 years of war.)

2. Afghanistan would like its national game, buzkashi, or goat-grabbing, to be an Olympic sport. Regarded as the world's wildest game, it involves riders on horseback competing to grab a goat carcass, and gallop clear of the others to drop it in a chalked circle. It has been played on Afghanistan's northern steppe for centuries. The game used to be the sport of rich rival warlords but is now also financed by Afghan mobile phone companies and private airlines. But it is still not a sport for the faint-hearted, and women should not apply.

3. Poetry is a cherished part of Afghan culture. Afghans have told their stories in verse for more than 1,000 years. Thursday night is "poetry night" in the western city of Herat - men, women and children gather to share ancient and modern verse, listen to traditional Herati music, and enjoy sweet tea and pastries long into the night.

4. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the poster boy for legions of young Afghan men. Photographs of a muscled Arnold in his prime hang from the walls of hundreds of body building centres across the country. Some Afghans say the action-star-turned US governor looks like an Afghan.

The Kite Runner

This is the book we're going to read this term.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story

Do you have 18 minutes to spare?
Watch this video. You'll like it.

Asda 3D printer builds mini versions of people

A mini version of yourself is not what you would usually pick up on your weekly shop. But some say building products from scratch is the future of retail.
Asda, Britain's number two retailer, is offering customers a chance to be scanned and made into a detailed miniature figurine, using a 3D printer.
Having your whole body scanned takes between two to three minutes, with a small hand held machine recording images at a speed of 15 frames per second.
Asda's Head of Personalisation, Phil Stout, said the machine reads colour as well as geometry.
“The scanner is so sophisticated that it picks up details such as belt buckles, shoe detail, wedding rings and all the detail of the colour,” he said.
After the scan, the image is processed by a computer and sent for printing with coloured ceramic fluid. Each personalised figure takes around eight hours to produce.
Scanning slots were fully booked on the first trial day, with some customers travelling miles to get one. But, even with the short trial, Asda said its uses were already becoming clear.
According to Mr Stout, “An older gentleman came in earlier and his wife is in a care home, so he doesn't get to see his wife that often. He wanted to do a scan to give to his wife as a present. I thought that was very touching'.
3D printing is increasingly used in the industrial arena but Asda believes it the first supermarket to offer this service on a large scale – and relatively cheaply too at just £40 (€47) per figure.
Asda's retail director Mark Ibbotson said seeing the technology pioneered in the US by Walmart opened his eyes to the possibilities the technology can bring.
“In Feburary I visited the Walmart head office in Arkansaw and saw 3D printing and some of the products – jewellery, phone cases, several different things – and was really thrilled by it. The applications were so numerous'.
Asda's parent company Walmart will also be watching to see how the trial works out in the UK. But shoppers hoping for an unusual Christmas gift will be disappointed as they will not be rolling out the service until the new

The Class Sketch

The Class Sketch



Nearly 45 years ago three comedians – one tall, one middling, one short – stood in a line and impersonated the English class system for a sketch on the BBC's The Frost Programme. The upper-class man, played by John Cleese, said: "I have got innate breeding, but I have not got any money. So sometimes I look up to him," meaning the middle-class man. The middle-class man, played by Ronnie Barker, said: "I still look up to him, because although I have money, I am vulgar. But I am not as vulgar as him [the lower-class man]. So I still look down on him."
And the lower-class man, played by Ronnie Corbett, said: "I know my place. I look up to them both. But while I am poor, I am industrious, honest and trustworthy. Had I the inclination, I could look down on them."

Read the whole article:
Downton Abbey: a drama of very English distinction

Alice Munro, Nobel Prize in Literature

Alice Munro has won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Watch this interview with her.