Turkey day!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving or, as many Americans call it, Turkey day!  Thanksgiving is a holiday where we give thanks for everything and everyone in our life.  It is also a holiday where we eat...a lot!

This infographic shows some of the main foods Americans eat on Thanksgiving (and also explains how to cook a turkey if you are interested!).  Have you ever tried any of these foods? (Click on the image to make it bigger.)

Of course, the most famous Thanksgiving food is turkey.

There are several idioms with the word "turkey".  Here are some examples:

- to quit something cold turkey: to stop doing something immediately and completely (the opposite of doing something gradually)

   Ex. My father quit smoking cold turkey.  One day he just stopped smoking completely and never smoked     

      again.

- to talk turkey: to talk about business, talk about something serious

   Ex.  We really need to solve this problem.  We need to talk turkey.

 

The turkey is usually made with stuffing, which is a mixture of bread, vegetables and soup that is placed inside the bird while it cooks in the oven. 

Here are some idioms with "stuff":

- to be stuffed: to be extremely full

    Ex. I just ate so much food! I'm stuffed!

- to stuff it: to be quiet (this is a rude term)

   Ex. She is always making me angry!  I told her to stuff it.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

When it rains, it pours.

Those of you here in Rome know that it has been raining all week.  That got me thinking about all the words and expressions we have related to rain.

Different types of rain
Rain comes in many forms.  There is light rain and heavy rain, but do you know these other words for the different types of rain?

These words all describe rain, and are in order from light to heavy.  So, a sprinkle is a very light rain, whereas a downpour is an extremely heavy rain (one that usually doesn't last very long).

- Sprinkle
- Drizzle
- Light shower
- Heavy shower
- Downpour

There are many famous paintings which show rain.   Can you describe the rain in these paintings using the vocabulary words above?

Caillebotte

Monet

Chagall

Van Gogh

Renoir

Hiroshige

Expressions with rain
Here are some common expressions with rain:
- Come rain or shine: no matter if there is rain or sunshine, in any type of weather.
         Ex: We will go to the park come rain or shine. (This means that we will go to the park regardless of
                  whether it rains or not.)
- When it rains, it pours: when one thing goes wrong, usually many things go wrong
        Ex. What a bad day!  First, I lost my keys.  Then, I missed the bus.  At work, my computer broke
                  down!  When it rains it pours!
- It's raining cats and dogs: it is raining very hard
       Ex. Wow! Look outside! It's raining cats and dogs!  I think I will stay home.
- Don't rain on my parade: Don't destroy or ruin this pleasurable moment for me.  (This expression probably orginated from a 1964 song, "Don't Rain on my Parade.")
      Sally: I got a new job in New York!
      Mary: That's great...but you know the traffic is very bad and New York is very expensive.
      Sally: Please don't rain on my parade!


Do you know any other famous paintings which show rain?  Can you think of any other expressions with rain? 

Arcimboldo teaches us some useful vocabulary

Giuseppe Arcimboldo was a sixteenth-century Italian painter.  He was born in Milan and worked as a portraitist (artist who paints images of people's faces) for the emperor Ferdinand I in Vienna.  He is most known, however, for a series of unusual paintings of faces made only of objects, like fruit, vegetables, flowers, fish and books.  Let's take a look at some of these famous portraits.  Not only are they fun to look at, but we can also use them to learn new vocabulary.

Image from edupics.com

Before we begin, let's review some vocabulary related to the parts of the face.

Can you fill in the diagram with the following words? (answers at the end of this post)
                                1. Nose
                                2. Eyebrow
                                3. Mouth
                                4. Chin
                                5. Ear
                                6. Eye
                                7. Hair








Now look at this famous portrait by Arcimboldo.  It is a painting of a man's face, made of fruit and vegetables. It is a profile (a view from the side). 

Look at the painting and the detail on the right.  Can you identify what objects are used for each of the body parts? Match the objects with the body parts. (answers at the end)

                       1.    Lips                                                              a.. Wheat
                       2.    Ear                                                               b. Peach
                       3.    Nose                                                            c. Peas
                       4.    Eyebrow                                                       d. Garlic
                       5.    Cheek (part of the face below the eye)              e. Zucchini
                       6.    Chin                                                              f.  Pear
                       7.    Teeth                                                            g. Cherries

Can you name any other fruit and vegetables you see in the painting?

Here is another painting by Arcimboldo.  This painting is considered "reversible" because you can look at it in two different ways. On the left, the painting looks like a basket of fruit.  When we turn the paining over, however, we see a portrait!  The basket becomes a hat.

Can you identify any of the fruit used in this portrait?

There are many other similar paintings by Arcimboldo.  Do you like these paintings?
Do you know any other artists who paint portraits in an unusual way?


Hope you enjoyed this post!


Answers:
1. Parts of the face: from top left corner, moving clockwise (the direction the hands on a clock move):  Eyebrow, hair, eye, nose, chin, mouth, ear
2. Matching: 1-g, 2-d, 3-e, 4-a, 5-b, 6-f, 7-c

 (images from Wikimedia Commons)

The present continuous and Baroque art

Introduction:
We use the present continuous to describe an action that is happening at the moment or that is in the process of change.

To form the present continuous:
     Be + Verb-ING

We often use the present continuous to describe actions in works of art. In this post, we will practice using the present continuous to describe actions in Baroque painting and sculpture.


Italian Baroque and the "fleeting moment"
The Baroque period in Italy began in the late 16th century.  Baroque art is very dramatic.  Artists such as  Bernini show figures in a fleeting (very quick) moment.  Imagine taking a photograph of a man running.  Your photo shows the man's legs both off the ground for a very short time.  He looks like he is flying.  The man did not stay in this position for very long.  Your photograph shows a fleeting moment - a moment that lasted for an extremely short time.  It shows the man in motion.  This is very typical of Baroque art.

A fleeting moment - The man is running.

  
Bernini

 

Gianlorenzo Bernini is one of the most famous artists from the Baroque period.  Most of his sculptures are made of marble.  Bernini was such a skillful artist that he makes the marble look soft and flexible in his works of art. 

This image is one of Bernini's most famous sculptures.  It shows Apollo and Daphne.  In this mythological story, Apollo loves Daphne and follows her, but Daphne does not want him.   She tries to escape from him by changing into a tree. 

  

      Apollo is chasing after Daphne.
      Daphne is becoming a tree.

 

                Daphne's hands are changing into leaves.         Her toenails are becoming the roots of the tree.

Here is another work of art by Bernini, his statue of David.  In this sculpture, David is fighting the giant Goliath.  We don't see Goliath, we only see David.  

Look at the sculpture from different angles.  Then describe the action in this sculpture using the present continuous.  Use the vocabulary words to help you.

   Vocabulary:
                    Sling - (n) a weapon made of a string used to throw stones
                    To spin - (v) to move in a circular motion
                    To twist - (v) to bend or turn something, changing its shape
                   

Do you know any other Baroque sculptors or painters?  Find some examples of the "fleeting moment" and practice describing the actions using the present continuous.