"Modern spaceship" commercial

While reading the article, please fill in the blanks:

Two University of Southern California grads, R.J. Collins and James Khabushani, recently ……………………………………….(launch) a digital content company called Everdream Pictures.

Collins and Khabushani ……………………………………….(know) that advertising companies in United States usually ………………………………………… (charge) millions of dollars to produce TV commercials for cars.

The duo …………………………………….. (want) to get the attention of advertisers, video game designers, and others so they  ……………………………………………………….. (decide) to try their luck in a fiercely competitive market and …………………………………………………………. (put) all their money - $1,500  -  into a 60-second unsolicited commercial for the electric car Tesla.

 They   …………………………………………..(prove) that with imagination, you ………………………………………………. (attract)  thousands of viewers. The company’s owner Elon Musk ……………………………………………… (see) the ad and …………………………………………………. (tweet)

That pretty much did it. The video ……………………………………………. (be) subsequently posted to Tesla's Facebook and Instagram feeds, and it has since gone viral.

And even more important for the young enterpreneurs, Elon  Musk …………………………………………………….. (say) he ………………………………………………………….(consider) Everdream Pictures for future projects.

If that's not "mission accomplished" for Collins and Khabushani, it's at least a very promising takeoff.

Here's the video:

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Which Place Is More Sexist? The Middle East Or Latin America?

 

 

 

 

 

A semi-naked woman in a Carnival costume. A veiled woman with only her eyes showing in a niqab. Two stereotypes of two vastly different regions — Latin America and the Middle East.

On the surface, these two images are diametrically opposed. What could the two have in common, right? What a woman wears — or what she doesn't wear, in Brazil's case — is often interpreted as a sign of her emancipation. The veil, for many, is a symbol of female oppression; the right to wear a bikini, one of liberation.

Underneath the differences, the Middle East and Latin America's most famously immodest country both impose their own burdens on women in the way they are treated and perceived.

Brazil has a female president, and women are well-represented in the work force. This isn't Saudi Arabia, where women cannot drive, or Afghanistan under the Taliban, where women could not study.

And yet it is one of the most dangerous countries to be female in.  Statistics show that about every two hours a woman is murdered in Brazil, a country with the seventh highest rate of violence against women in the world.

This juxtaposition of sex and violence isn't new, according to Rosana Schwartz, a historian and sociologist at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in Sao Paulo. Brazil imported more slaves than any other country in the Americas, and slavery was only abolished in 1888.

"The female slaves were used as sexual objects to initiate the master's son's sexuality or to satisfy him. And the result has been that until today, Brazilian women are seen in a sexist way, in a more sexualized way, because she was used as a sexual object for so long," Schwartz says.

In many parts of the Middle East, however, women are mostly hidden away at home and, in the most traditional countries, are not allowed to have unsupervised contact with men outside their families.

Brazilian women don't face the same kinds of restrictions.

In Brazil, women are second only to the U.S. in the amount of plastic surgeries they have and in the number of beauty products they consume.

In a recent article talking about vaginal reconstruction — yes, Brazil is a world leader in that cosmetic surgery, too — psychoanalyst Regina Navarro noted that there is a huge amount of pressure in Brazil to conform to an ideal. "Women want to adapt to what they think men want," she told Brazil's Glamour magazine.

I recently spent some time at a leading international modeling agency in Sao Paulo.  The main headhunter told me confidently that all young boys in Brazil wanted to be soccer stars, and all young women aspired to be models.

You can go to schools here and quickly learn that little girls are not encouraged to become the next Ronaldo. While Brazil is a global force in men's soccer, women's soccer in Brazil is almost nonexistent. But girls as young as 6 or 7 know which models are on the cover of magazines.

The 2022 World Cup will be played in Qatar, a country that is not known for its sex appeal. Women's activists often target the Middle East for its policies toward women. But as living in Brazil has taught me, for women, even having all the freedom in the world can be its own cage.

edited from NPR
 

By Lourdes Garcia-Navarro
Photo Credit: Marco Di Fabio and Nelson Almeida/Getty Images

Missing Jet: Objects Seen Off Australia (audio)

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Man sues McDonald's

While reading the article, please choose the correct option

CALIFORNIA – Multiple media outlets (are reporting - will report)  that a California man (sues - is suing) McDonald’s for more than a million dollars… because he (receives - received) only one napkin with his meal.

He (says -will say) the incident (is happening - happened) last month, when he (ordered - had to order) a Quarter Pounder.

He immediately (was noticing - noticed) only one napkin (came - come) with his burger.

He (emailed - able to ) the general manager of the restaurant to complain. According to reports, McDonald’s offered him some free food in an effort (to make - making) him happy.

That gesture (does not - did not) satisfy him.

Instead, the man (can say- says) he (is - was) now unable to work, because of the “Undue mental anguish” he (should suffer - suffered) as a result of the “napkin” incident.

Last Monday he (filed - file) a lawsuit against McDonald’s for $1.5 million dollars.

What questions would you ask to get the following answers

1. McDonald’s
2. $1.5 million dollars
3. only one 
4. last month
5. a Quarter Pounder.
6. to complain.
7. some free food
8. No, it didn't
9. No, he can't
10. because of “Undue mental anguish”
11. Last Monday
12. I don't think so



edited from Kfor