Results tagged “language”

The NY Times had an interesting article about what one calls the $700 billion plan to help financial firms. The White House likes to call it a "rescue plan"--"Financial Rescue Legislation"--while the media has taken a liking to "bailout." (Mayor Bloomberg is also anti-"bailout the term".) But CNBC economics reporter Steve Liesman explained why bailout works, “You rescue the unwitting victims of a boat accident. You bail out an experienced captain who sailed knowingly into a storm. There are no innocent victims here except the American taxpayer. Wall Street, which should have known better, is getting bailed out.” But who knows—if this were presented as a "rescue" plan, maybe it would have gone over better with taxpayers...and the House of Representatives.

A NY-based nonprofit called Breakthrough launched a video game yesterday called ICED: I Can End Deportation (also a play on the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department).

While the jury is still out on whether Mayor Bloomberg's improvements to the public school system have really worked, he, along with City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and School Chancellor Joel Klein, announced new initiatives to help middle schools improve academic performance and provide better resources for students, parents, and teachers alike - plus $5 million to fund them. The money will go to the 50 lowest-performing middle schools, so they can staff up with guidance counselors, offer mentoring programs to less experienced supervisors, and offer Regents-level classes.

: Season 2

One of the 40 new schools the city is opening in the fall will be the first public school dedicated teaching the Arabic language and culture. The NY Times reports that half of the classes at the Khalil Gibran International Academy will eventually be taught in Arabic. It will be located in Brooklyn, though it's unclear where yet. Principal Debbie Almontaser says the school will start out with just sixth graders, but will eventually have 500-600 students. She said, "We are wholeheartedly looking to attract as many diverse students as possible, because we really want to give them the opportunity to expand their horizons and be global citizens."

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association voting pool for the Golden Globes only consists of 83 members, but every year their mainstream tastes become one of the potential early prognosticators for the Emmys and the Oscars. Over in Beverly Hills today, the stylists are putting the finishing touches on the stars' couture, that long red carpet is being laid and some assistant is double checking the seals on the envelopes. Here in New York of course, we get to play the more enviable armchair critic job hashing out who might be taking home this year's statues after tonight's telecast [8 - 11 pm on NBC].

You know it's the beginning of January when the gyms are filled with New Years resolution exercisers and the movie theaters are filled with post-New Years dreck. Frankly, it's best to focus on getting caught up on last year's best (see our Top 10 and the subsequent comments for suggestions) and leave this week's releases for suckers with movie money to burn.

SIGNING: Just a few days ago LL Cool J was out signing his book (which, is actually a workout book). Tonight 50 Cent will be at Borders Bookstore with two of his writers for the launch of, wait for it...G Unit books! Some titles: Death Before Dishonor, Baby Brother and The Ski Mask Way. Get there early!

THEATER: Mind the Gap specializes in bringing contemporary British plays to New York; their latest lark is a military/political thriller called The Cleric that explores the issue of state-sanctioned torture. It’s about an Irish-American priest who is caught by U.S. Special Forces in post-9/11 Afghanistan and accused of terrorist collaboration. Harmless, fraternity hazing type hi-jinks ensue, but all the priest wants is another priest to hear him confess sins that he claims are worse than anything he’s been accused of doing. Martin Denton assures us that not only is this an "important" play but that the “tension never flags.” - John Del Signore

Bronx High School of Science, one of the city's top magnet schools, is suddently in a pickle (or is that kimchee?) with Korean parents. The NY Sun reports that parents have raised more than $100,000 to start a promisd Korean language program at the school, but the school has only offered an elective since. There are lots of questions, like why did the school accept checks from parents while the Department of Education denies any knowledge of them and why did parents fundraise when donated money cannot pay for teachers. The school did give back $70,000 in donations from Jwin Electronics, but the DOE can't seem to account for thousands of dollars from other organizations, like the Korean Embassy and LG Electronics. And then there's this:

Interest in the matter has even extended to the West Coast. A professor at UCLA, Ailee Moon, is the president of the Foundation for Korean Language and Culture, which contributed $5,000 and flew to New York to review the program with the principal in February of this year. Ms Moon was concerned that only the one course was offered.

Continue reading "Bronx Science Brouhaha with Korean Parents"

Dear lord, it's only mid-September but already the amount of new releases flooding theaters is getting a bit overwhelming.

Andrew Friedman is co-director of Make the Road by Walking, a Brooklyn-based community-based organization founded in 1997 on the belief that the center of leadership must be within the community. Since then, the organization has grown dramatically and now includes over 600 members, a member-elected board composed of low-income community residents, and a staff of twelve. Over the past 5 years, MRBW has achieved many improvements to the lives of Bushwick residents. They pushed New York City to conform to federal law and provide translation services to non-English speakers in food stamp, welfare, and Medicaid offices, and got dozens of neighborhood employers to pay more than $100,000 in illegally withheld wages to garment workers.

. The Club is at 15 Gramercy Park and the event is free, and open to the public, starting at 8PM.

This week's literary events kick off tonight (1/24) at Housing Works Used Books Cafe (126 Crosby St.), with a reading from Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonorated, edited by Dave Eggers and Lola Vollen. The reading will be followed by a Q&A and a signing, starts at 7PM, and is free.

Allison Bowles, Student

Tomorrow night (Monday May 9th) comedian Colin Quinn (who, if you're like us, you know first from MTV's Remote Control) will headline an evening of stand-up comedy with Todd Barry, Greg Giraldo, and special guests. The evening will be hosted by the comedy duo and Saturday Night Live writers Slovin & Allen.

The weekend is here, and unfortunately our run of nice weather has run out. The rains will be coming. Luckily the city is prepared with plenty of indoor activities to enjoy, and if you're not scared of getting a little wet there is some outdoor fun to be had as well.

Lindsey Caldwell, Hustler/DJ

Oscar Commentary
Oscar is celebrating its 75th anniversary, I'm celebrating my 25th anniversary of watching Oscar.

The evening is over, while Gothamist will be following up with extensive commentary about the actual Oscar telecast, here are the winners and some post-game analysis:

As a hopeless cinephile, I feel that the year I spend watching movies is like having a crush on some unattainable person. It makes me feel alive, with all the planning and dreaming and effort I put into it, and somehow, even when I see a bad movie, it�s okay, because it�s one of the knocks I take in wishing that maybe this in time, after paying $10+ for a movie, it might reward my desperate passion with an enlightening moment that can transcend time and place. (For the record, that includes Owen Wilson�s goofiness, Katharine Hepburn trying to hit Cary Grant, and the way Christopher Doyle moves a camera.)