Late August Materials

Hello Students,

My mother & sister Elaine took some photos when I first arrived home in Michigan from Scotland and played some acoustic guitar with my brother-in-law Matt, my sister Emily’s husband

How is your summer going? Many of my students are enjoying holiday, traveling on vacation or relaxing at home, in the sun, in the shade or at the beach. My wife Jessica & I miss the Mediterranean more than we miss the UK — there are days where we miss Edinburgh but the weather of Michigan summertime is making us happy to be back home in America.

I will keep my post brief this week — I have several appointments (medical & dental check ups since I just got back to my home country) plus I am going up north for a long weekend or two in the next few months so I will keep in touch about certain dates I will be unavailable — if you have any questions or need to reschedule, please feel free to email me at adam.fitzgerald@glt-talent.com or adamfitzsmith@gmail.com anytime.

Here are the materials I have selected to share for this week, hopefully you find some of these interesting and helpful to your expanding English knowledge and skills!

Sad stories coming from South America right now about these fires in the Amazon, truly heart-breaking to a nature-lover like myself

Brazilian Amazon burning at record rate, space agency warns

This is a meme I recently saw that’s related to this same topic. I wanted to share this becuase of its relevancy —

Another article connected to this developing story- this focuses on the indigenous (native) peoples of the area —

'We fight for the right to exist'

Here is a more uplifting & inspiring article about mental health being improved by exercise

Exercise is the new primary prescription for those with mental health problems - Neuroscience News

Meanwhile — Crazy new developments in Mexico !

Mexico court approves recreational cocaine use

This is an interesting story from US news outlet NPR (National Public Radio — a publicly funded media source in America) about a recent incident in China

China Confirms British Consulate Employee Held On 'Administrative Detention'

Here is a UK perspective on a recent controversial remark made by Trump

Trump says Jews who support Democrats are 'disloyal'

Another insane connection to the Epstein trial / suicide… the plot thickens

Two Researchers Resign in Protest Over MIT Media Lab's Ties to Jeffrey Epstein

An interesting story about a killer, the FBI & technology

How A Tip - And Facial Recognition Technology - Helped The FBI Catch A Killer

Here is a story that offers proof of America’s conflicts of interest across the world — the US can act like the heroes, but the truth is coming out

Bomb that killed 40 children in Yemen was supplied by US

Another insane Trump remark leading to conflict between countries :(

Denmark defiant on Greenland after Trump snub

Here’s a screenshot from a recent development on Twitter between the people & the president of the USA — which one is “fake news” ??? Who knows what to believe? It’s hard to understand what to trust — that’s why it’s important to read multiple resources (especially when reality seems to be turning into a deranged cartoon show)

An alarming story about technology, privacy invasion & video games

Microsoft Contractors Listened to Xbox Owners in Their Homes

A story with an interesting take on recycling

More U.S. Towns Are Feeling The Pinch As Recycling Becomes Costlier

This is a “long read” article about searching for dinosaurs

Mission Jurassic: Searching for dinosaur bones

Here is another (much shorter) fascinating article about a recent dinosaur discovery —

Canada Unveils 'Dinosaur Mummy' Found With Skin And Gut Contents Intact

Here is a slide show with more photos of the “Dinosaur Mummy”

This Dinosaur Is the 'Most Impressive Fossil' We've Ever Seen

Here is a more uplifting story about the guitarist of Pink Floyd donating to charities to help fight climate change

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour sold his guitar collection for $21.5 million- and donated everything to…

For grammar this week I wanted to share resources on quantifiers. When learning English, it can be difficult to know when to say “how much” versus “too many” — here are some links to help with that

Grammar Lessons - Quantifiers

Much, many, a lot of, lots of : quantifiers - English Grammar Today - Cambridge Dictionary

Quantifiers

Here’s a more in depth look if you want to learn more about the different quantifiers of English —

Quantifiers | English Grammar | EF

Here is a very interesting & recent TED Talk presentation about habits

For music this week I wanted to share one of my favorite “newer” or “younger” bands called “Whitney” from Chicago — the band is mainly comprised of two songwriters — drummer and singer Julien (who used to play drums for a great band called Unknown Mortal Orchestra a.k.a. UMO) & guitarist Max (who used to play for a great band called The Smith Westerns)

They have been putting out new songs ahead of their upcoming second album

These are the songs that first got me hooked on Whitney —

“No Woman”

& “Golden Days”

Here’s the lyrics for “No Woman” if you’re interested in reading them

Whitney - No Woman

Some of you may know & some of you may infer from the photo at the top of this blog post, but I am also a musician. I make music by myself as Quells and also with my friends as our band Shady Groves -

For anyone interested in listening or following the music I make with my band Shady Groves in Detroit, you can follow us at these links:

Shady Groves Online:
https://soundcloud.com/shady-groves
https://facebook.com/shadygrovesband
https://shadygroves.bandcamp.com
https://shadygrovesbandblog.tumblr.com https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5H7FQned2YIxpYqPtqJ1Mg https://twitter.com/shadygrovesband
https://instagram.com/shadygrovesband

& on Spotify here:

https://spoti.fi/2rrb6lj

Here is our “Facebook” page -

Shady Groves

As many of you know, my wife & I are aspiring authors — she is working on a fantasy book series (3 books) & I am writing my own science fiction (sci-fi) series (9 books) — we have both been working on our respective book series since we were children, creating characters & worlds, plotting & scheming for years & years — now we are finally writing & finishing books & preparing to submit them out to the world in hopes of getting published.

For quotes & wisdom from those wiser than I this week, I wanted to share these memes that elegantly share a quote with a photo.

Here are some quotes from two of our idols —

Two very famous, very amazing writers

One of the most famous science-fiction (sci-fi) writers ever — Isaac Asimov
& one of the most famous fantasy writers ever, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia — C.S. Lewis

Here is a quote from Gandhi to keep in mind in relation to our world today

Here is another quote from one of the most legendary sci-fi authors of all time — the author of many classics like War of the Worlds, Invisible Man, The Time Machine & many more

“Civilization is in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.”

― H. G. Wells

If you’re interested in more quotes from H.G. Wells, here’s a link

H.G. Wells Quotes (Author of The Time Machine)

Here is an article I wrote a few years ago on this very important topic — EDUCATION — speaking from my experiences an educator.

My View Point | The County Press

Have a great week & a great weekend!

Email me if you have any comments, questions or concerns.

Best,

Adam Fitzgerald