McGill course: Study English pronunciation

You absolutely don't need the course I take at McGill if you read the following poem with no pronunciation problem:

Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.

Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.

Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.

Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.

Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.

Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.

Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.

Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.

Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.

Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.

Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.

Finally, which rhymes with enough -
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!!!

Canadian party

In the beginning of our life in Canada, once we were invited for a visit by a Quebecois family; they said it would be a dinner in a home environment. A few other guests were invited, too. I must admit that we, Russians, love these kinds of ‘home-dinner-party’. Actually, it is in our culture.

As recommended, we bought a couple of bottle of wine, some chocolate, and I don’t even remember what else – it does not matter.

I should say that the way to their home took about one hour; so, when we showed up at their home I was a bit hungry.

Just to explain how it usually goes on in Russia: when everybody sits at the table, guests begin to eat and drink, and then the conversation starts. Wishing it was!

After hand-shaking and welcome kisses, the hosts gave us a tour of their home, represented to other guests and got us some Champaign. There were also some small pieces of food on the table aside. Not that much, I would say! And, you know what? We started a small talk, which was dragging on and on and on… How long? Maybe it was only my imagination but it seemed about one hour. Ah! On top of that! All that time we had been standing before we were finally asked to sit at the table.

So, I was drunk, exhausted, and starving to death!

Now, I see that the problem was in mismatch between my assumptions and expectations and the local traditions and customs of hospitality. They gave me the warmest welcome, but I could not enjoy it because I was not properly prepared.

It served me as a good example of intercultural communication conflict. After that, whenever I go for a dinner to a Canadian family, I eat in advance.

full of allusions

it is like a conundrum full of allusions to american and sometimes international cultural artifacts like events, movies, heroes and so on.

we are supposed to be larger educated and well informed, in other words -- enculturated -- to fully enjoy all these parodies, to estimate its multilayered structure.

i really love such sophisticated stuff: it motivates me to learn culture.

try to guess what i am talking about!

Cross-gender communication

It is hard to imagine society itself without cross-gender communication, which is really important because men and women are still different not only biologically.

Considering this communication as a form of intercultural communication will help us to better understand the ways to develop related skills when speaking across genders.

A quick glance on the history of the modern human society can shed light on the questions why men and women speak differently and why language generally implies different roles for them. Obviously, it is consequences of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, patriarchate dominance, and some other important acting factors like religion, etc.

For a member of society, gender predefines belonging to a family group like wife or husband; therefore, in certain cases, an ascribed societal role can lead to an achieved role. During life, some roles can be changed, but behavior expectations to each role, formed by society norms and mores, generally stay the same.

The first place in life where a child begins to adopt these norms and expectations is the family in which he or she lives. On the other hand, the most important mean of communication is the language the family speaks. Language usage reflects the roles ascribed to men and women, and it is mirrored even in grammatical gender. Diversity of cultural and historical backgrounds has huge impact on forming gender specific aspects of every language.

For example, in Arabic, the question How many children do you have? sounds literally like How many boys do you have? The word ‘girl’ in German (Mädchen) is treated as neuter. In Russian, it is impossible to call some professions like blacksmith, carpenter, etc. as feminine. (In fact, in Russian, everything is possible to say, but it would be really awkward and funny.)

Another interesting phenomenon is the way of speaking that is commonly expected from men and women in a particular society. Not to make anyone blushing by giving examples, but ladies are not supposed to use some expressions and so on.

Moreover, in culturally mixed environments, like that in Canada, the situation at the family and society level can be more complex because of the different norms and behavioural patterns added by immigrants to the whole mosaic.

All in all, to speak effectively, to be understood correctly, to avoid risqué situations when it comes to cross-gender communication, it requires special linguistic practices and knowing the cultural background and context.

Sales letter: Partnership proposition on Wi-Fi Internet Access Point and VOIP solution for hotels

Buenos dìas Jose!

I know that you deal with IT solutions in Cuba, and so do I in Canada. This is why I believe my value proposition of partnership might be of your interest.

My name is Alex. For five years I have been leading a small family company in Montreal, Canada, that develops and implements an IT solution for hotels – “HotSpot”. Briefly, it is a comprehensive hardware/software solution, which allows hotels to provide their guests with Wi Fi Internet access on all their premises and a cheap VOIP telephony for international calls.

The system is very easy in installation: it requires only one working day for the hardware part (one central Wi-Fi router and one additional extender per each 100 square meters) and one day for the software installation and testing.

This solution is in high demand in Canada; consequently, our business goes very well. In 2011 we sold more than one hundred of new installations and achieved our sales goal of one million CAD. As to Cuba, we have already implemented one “HotSpot” at “Freyer Blau Costa” in Holguin and can use this hotel as a good reference. Given that the hospitality industry in Cuba is one of the most developed, I estimate the local market potential very high; for the first year, the target revenue might be set as much as $200,000.

So, as you can see, the opportunity is really interesting. However, it may be working only in a form of partnership. First of all, due to the Cuban government regulations that restrict the local market from foreign businesses. Also, from the marketing perspective, it would be much more efficient to collaborate with a Cuban partner. So, I need such a service provider, who knows the language, customs, traditions, and cultural norms, and who could build trust and establish strong relationship with the hotel chains’ management by representing “HotSpot”.

I am ready to make initial investments in the marketing activities and guarantee you a technical support including training. We will be signing a partner agreement each year by setting the annual quota together with an aggressive commission plan. Basically, it means that if you exceed your target, you get an agreed percent of commission plus an exponentially growing bonus. More detail about the prices, commission rate, and the product you can find attached.

I am planning to be in Havana in the beginning of this April. So, please let me know before the March 15th if we could meet there to discuss our eventual partnership, of course, if you will find this proposition interesting to you.

I would be really happy, too, if you could come to Montreal to visit the company’s office and my home.

Please feel free to ask me any questions.

With respect,

Alex

Non-verbal communication

The significance of non-verbal communications is really high; certain researchers estimate the meaning of a message transmitted non-verbally up to 90%. However, there is no need to be a scientist to make the same conclusion, especially, when it comes to intercultural communications where we deal with different behavioral patterns.

All the three videos are full of non-verbal patterns that can be divided into the following categories (in fact, there are more than that but just to name a few): touch, eye contact, volume, posture, gestures, paralanguage, proximity. Some of them, like closing the lips with the index finger to call for silence or moisture in eyes, are universal and common for people regardless of nationality, gender, and age. The others are very peculiar and, I believe, specific to particular cultures, like raising the little finger with back of hand.

Two Greek men stay very close to each other: one, amused, with his hands in his pockets, constantly looking at his friend’s eyes; the other obviously persuading his friend with expressive gestures, speaking very fast, a bit rocking and finally even sticking out his tongue!

In the Brazilian adventure we see a timid lad who clears his throat just to be brave in face of a celebrity. But he was not so reserved in the car before, when the laughing girl touched his head: he spoke with raising inflection, surprised and amused. Later, in the room, they shook hands twice in an interesting manner. He lowered his tone when he started speaking Portuguese to the girl next to him, evidently, to clarify the situation with his inadequate English. Another interesting moment was then that girl pointed him with her index finger. I think this gest is not appropriated in other cultures, but I understood very easily what she wanted to say when she ‘touched’ her heart with the hand – to excuse her.

In the Arab movie, on the contrary, we see a much bigger distance between people and more formal way of communication. What I can highlight is that the M.C.’ behavior, in particular, his respectful posture with the angled torso inclined towards the singer and his manner of reading a poem – he did it like a mullah singing his prayers. From my point of view, the guests seem being treated more than just with respect, but as it should be in a high society.

All in all, I reckon that this theme is interesting enough to be learned more because language itself is not sufficient to communicate efficiently in international environments. I understood the context and the main ideas of all these three videos, even though I neither speak Greek, Arab, nor Portuguese.

Report on a Bulgarian community member’s reflection about Hofstede’s dimensions

This report is based on the Montreal community member interview conducted in terms of English course CEEN-402-781 January 27th, 2012. Its goal is to discover the interviewee’s opinion on Hofstede’s four dimensions describing intercultural differences attributed to each country: Power distance, Individualism, Uncertainty avoidance, and Masculinity.

I selected to interview a friend of mine, which belongs to the Bulgarian Montreal community, because this culture – having the same Greek Orthodox and Eastern European cultural roots – is very similar to Russian one. On the other hand, we speak different languages and have many other differences in historical background, economic and political situations, etc. So, it is interesting to find out subtle differences in regards to the four mentioned-above criteria.

Stanislav, 28, lived in Sophia, the capital of Bulgaria; he is married to a Bulgarian woman; he is a programmer; he has been living in Montreal almost two year by the moment.

The interview was conducted at the Stanislav’s apartment in a relaxing atmosphere where two friends can drink a bit of wine and share their opinions in a free form. Some important results of this one hour dialogue are summarized below.

Being provided with my short introduction, Stanislav was very interested and excited about the Hofstede’s approach to discovering intercultural differences. He believes that the modern Bulgarian society belongs to the low power distance class. Although the Bulgarian king (tsar) came from the emigration back to the country and gained some popularity and power via democratic elections, the equality is seen as a common value. Laid aside the corruption aspect, we can say that the upward mobility is not limited due to some power or wealth factors.

The degree of individualism depends on the place where people live. Say, in the countryside people are more collectivists than in the cities. In general, Stanislav estimates this score as 50/50 saying with a smile ‘there are troubles between three Bulgarians.’

I asked him a few of very tricky questions to evaluate their society’s uncertainty avoidance: what a person would choose between calling the police and staying away if he or she were a witness of a crime; between giving a bribe and staying within the law to save a friend from prison, etc. Based on his answers, the Bulgarians tend to count on themselves more than on the police and the legal system.

It is very rare to see women among bus drivers in Bulgaria; nevertheless, women are dominant among trolleybus drivers! Little by little women become more numerous at manager positions. For example, two last Sophia’s mayors are women: Maria Boyadzhiyska, Yordanka Fandakova, the second term.

Imagining the situation when he should choose between two candidates for his own IT business, he would hire a woman because of the female way of thought that can make more profit nowadays.

Among other interesting information Stanislav explained how difficult it was to him to change his head movement when he moved to Canada: in Bulgaria nodding means shaking one’s head no.

Unfortunately, I had no time to interview his wife, Bella; otherwise, the results would have been more accurate. However, based on the Stanislav’s answers, we may consider Bulgaria as a culture with low scores in Power distance and Uncertainty avoidance, average degree of Individualism, and still high score in Masculinity.

All in all, it was an outstanding experience that enriched my interpersonal skills and gave me a reason to introspect my own Russian culture.

Language as a key to culture

I believe that the term ‘culture’ could be defined as a set of abstract ideas (religious beliefs, moral principles, intellectual concept, philosophies etc.) that are commonly adopted by a social group and used by this group – consciously or not – as a basis for its behavioral patterns.

Of course, this paradigm is much larger but I try to highlight the most important part of it to understand the difficulties one may encounter when it comes to intercultural communication. Evidently, it is not a big problem to adopt your own culture even without understanding it – just do what everybody does around you, and everything will be okay. A child is capable of exploring the world, true; however, the most important information that finally forms culture is provided to him or her by means of language. This is the point: language is a medium of culture; therefore, it is a key to understanding any culture, even your own.

As to the principles of my culture, they are very easy to name. Briefly, I am Russian. Russia is a mix of regional cultures, different languages and religions, so am I. I am not religious but I was brought up on the Russian Orthodox Church and Soviet moral principles. Sometimes, it sounds like an oxymoron but it is true, nevertheless. I can spend more time dreaming about a bright future than doing something for it. I can be a bit unpredictable and spontaneous (I am not sure if it is either related to culture or personality). I am very open with my friends but usually aggressive to strangers. I tend to underestimate myself. I do not really care about feelings – more about thoughts and deeds. I try to walk the talk and take one’s word.

Given that Russia is very similar to Canada in many ways, I easily settled in Montreal’s multinational environment. Despite the city is a citadel of immigrants from the every corner of the world; I can distinguish Canadian culture from all the rest. I see that the culture was founded a few hundred years ago by early settlers with French, English, Irish, and Scottish roots has now been shaped by
newcomers with different, sometimes even opposite, cultural patterns in mind, and I see the difference– it is huge.

I share Christian values; so, I accepted the majority of cultural patterns in Canada. No doubt, I have some problems understanding the differences I have been encountering in the new environment. Some of them come from the Canadian society’s norms, like those in the part of homosexual tolerance – I am not a homophobe but I cannot accept it as a norm. Others relate to communicating with immigrants from other countries.

The most important for any immigrant is to get a job but it is impossible without the ability to get along with people from different cultures. Sure, I am talking about the language – French, first of all. I had spent eight months learning it before I landed my first job. To be honest, I got my first job in an American company in the second week – in English, of course, but I resigned after a three weeks' training because… because I was ashamed of my English! Now it is in the past, and I communicate very well on business topics but I still quail when it comes to small talk, or, more important for me, humor and f-words.

To summarize, my priorities are the Canadian/Quebecois/Montreal cultural nuances, the Chinese approach to business communication, and the art of joking without making anybody offended.

Trouvez un mot propre

Dans ma classe de français, il y a une personne qui fait tous les jours ce que je ne fais jamais depuis trois ans de ma formation à McGill :  chaque fois quand il hésite en cherchant d'un mot propre pour mieux s'exprimer, et notre professeure lui aide, il dit 'merci'.

Cela vaut la peine de trouver un mot propre.

Another Brick in The...

No-no! Not in the wall but in the foundation of my English. Having got the program attestation, nevertheless I have decided to take an elective course: English vocabulary in conext.

The syllabus promises to be very interesting.

The course focuses on oral/ written communication through the study of vocabulary and its function in discourse. The course will include, among other things:

• Formal and informal expressions, newly-coined terms, slang and jargon;
• Idiomatic expressions, and specialized vocabulary;
• The use of resources and reference material.

It starts today; so we'll see soon!




lyrics

Summary Writing Exercise

All right folks. I continue my English tortures at Mcgill university. This written course is the last one in the program, however, I cannot promise you that this will be enough for me and I won't take another optional one.

Anyway, it's time to check my Summary Writing Exercise. I am here asking you to read the following summary, then the origin and tell me if my summary is short and sweet. I appreciate also any grammar or style correction. Especially from Andy Clark!

Petrol-driven cars will continue to dominate on the market leastwise till 2020, predicted Bob Lutz, the vice-chairman for product design at General Motors. In his opinion, despite oil prices rising, 95% of buyers are not ready yet to reimburse car makers' investments in high-cost plug-in and hybrid engines manufacturing. Mr. Lutz firmly believes that increasing fuel tax will facilitate the development of green technologies. However, this idea is not yet supported by Congress majority, admits Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives.


Mr. Lutz also highlights that now it is hard to produce more small vehicles instead of oil-voracious larger ones, because designing and launching a new model car takes as minimum 3 years.


(by Andrew Clark, guardian.co.uk , 11 January 2010)

Congédiements sauvages — la réalité du marché du travail?

Suite à Sévices cachés de Jobboom

Les relations entre un employeur et un employé ne sont pas éternelles: elles peuvent finir en raison de la fin d'un contrat ou à cause des changements de la situation économique, et c'est normal. Mais, parfois, cela se passe soudainement pour un employé, quand il se fait mettre à la porte sans préavis et ni explications. Il s'agit des congédiements sauvages. Étant donné la statistique mentionnée dans l'article, on peut envisager ce phénomène comme un problème général, répandu partout.

Les raisons qui motivent des employeurs à traiter leurs salariés d'une manière aussi désagréable peuvent varier. Les entreprises voudraient souvent contourner le syndicat, s'il y a lieu, et les lois du travail afin d'éviter de payer des indemnités de départs.
Divers conflits entre le personnel et les supérieurs peuvent toujours se produire et être perçus en tant qu'insubordination.
Les motifs diffèrent, mais le résultat est le même: si la compagnie a décidé de se débarrasser d'un salarié indésirable, soyez sûr, qu'elle fera tout pour que arriver à son but.

Les conséquences de telles mésaventures sont vraiment dévastatrices pour les gens congédiés de façon sauvage. Mettez-vous à leur place: vous venez de perdre votre emploi, personne vous n'explique pour quoi ce se passe, ni remercie pour tous ces ans que vous avez dévoués à la compagnie et finalement, aucune compensation ne vous se profile sur l'horizon.
Même si un licenciement s'était discuté, il causerait du stresse et des problèmes de genre psychologiques!

Bien sûr, une personne tellement mal traitée a le droit de contester cette décision soit en ayant porté une plainte à la Commission des normes du travail ou à un tribunal civil. Mais le fait est qu'être stressé à cause du congédiement récent n'est pas une drôle épreuve.
Il ne faut plus d'oublier des dépenses variées que de telles activités déclenchent. Les courts considèrent des plaintes, les syndicats gardent les intérêts de leurs membres, les juristes et les avocats sont toujours en train de chercher de nouveaux clients parce que des processus pareils leur donnent beaucoup d'ouvrage. Bienvenue! Le système attend de votre argent. Il faut le nourrir constamment.

Mais tout n'est cependant pas si très tragique. Les trois parties qui constituent le marché du travail, employeurs, employés et institutions appelées à contrôler les relations entre les deux premières, sont toujours capables de trouver d'une pistes de solution. Si vous êtes prêt à lutter pour vos droits vous réussirez à recevoir une satisfaction ou, au moins à élaborer un compromis. Ici, au Québec, ce n'est pas trop compliqué de trouver l'information sur les droits et les obligations d'un employé et un employeur.

Le seul point évident en situation pareille est le fait que l'employé et l'employer entameront sa réputation quelle béton qu'elle soit. Ils abîment son karma. Ce qui a fait un mauvais départ, cela ne finira jamais bien. (finira mal?)

Pensez-vous, qu'il vaille la peine de prendre en main son sort et vous en aller avant que la compagnie vous montrera la porte. Si vous voyez que tout vous accule au mur, serait-il une bonne idée d'entreprendre quelque pas prévu? Je ne parle pas de qu'affaiblir la position courante comme le consentement d'une réduction du salaire. Au contraire, en voyant qu'on a rien à perdre, vous pourriez par exemple essayer de discuter une promotion ou une augmentation, autrement dit, vous pourriez parler de ce dont vous rêviez longtemps mais n'aviez jamais de courage à l'aborder.

Moi personnellement, j'ai été congédié soudainement une seule fois pendant toute ma carrière. Je ne voudrais pas répéter cet expérience. De l'autre côté, je comprends bien que ce ne soit pas possible de prévoir tout.

Vu la crise financière courante, on peut dire qu'il est probable que le nombre de congédiements sauvages montera en flèche à l'avenir proche. Cette éventualité nous doit propulser à augmenter notre qualification et améliorer les relations dedans l'équipe et avec les supérieurs.

Évalutation de mes cours à McGill

Comme d'habitude, on a les évaluations de nos cours à McGill qui laissent les patrons de faculté de l'éducation permanente bien estimer leur travail.

C'est-à-dire c'est la seule chance pour nous autres, les étudiants, juger la qualité du travail de ceux qui nous évaluent pendant le trimestre. Il est temps de rétroaction!

Je doute que notre opinion puisse influencer la qualité de l'éducation, cependant, je suis sûr que cela aura un impact sur nos professeurs. Franchement, je passe les commentaires de questions généralement parce que je ne veux pas penser beaucoup pendant ce temps en classe afin d'analyser bien ce qui s'est passé et cetera. Mais chez moi, où j'ai le temps illimité, je peux ajouter plusieurs commentaires. Donc, je l'ai fait. De plus, j'ai recommandé ma professeur pour une nomination.

Je crois que Diana Fares mérite d'être nommée à cette nomination parce qu'elle est orfèvre en la matière, si on peut dire cela d'un professeur de la langue.

Elle est un vrai expert de français vivant, et français écrit, en particulier.
Elle est toujours bien préparée: toutes ses leçons sont intéressantes.
Elle motive les étudiants à aimer la langue, parce qu'elle l'aime elle-même et cela est contagieux.

Malgré le fait que le travail dans l'ambiance francophone ne peut pas garantir des bonnes connaissances du français, ici, à McGill, on a beaucoup de bons professeurs parmis lesquelles Diana est un diamant d'une belle eau.

L'ACCORD DU PARTICIPE PASSÉ AVEC LE COD

· Les ouvriers que j'ai vus travailler. (J'ai vu qui ? Les ouvriers. Est-ce que les ouvriers faisaient l'action de travailler ? Oui. Alors il y a accord du participe passé avec le COD.)

· Les ouvriers que j'ai vu réprimander. (J'ai vu qui ? Les ouvriers. Est-ce que les ouvriers faisaient l'action de réprimander ? Non, ils étaient réprimandés par quelqu'un d'autre. Alors le participe passé ne s'accorde pas.)

· Quels projets avez-vous aimé organiser ? (Vous avez aimé quoi ? Organiser. Le COD est ici l'infinitif placé après le verbe. Il n'y a donc pas d'accord.)

pris du cours de McGill

Who studies at McGill?

take a look at

What really leads to success

Every lesson at the university of McGill our prof of English, Rick W. Juskow gives us something interesting. Last time, it was a short video with Richard St. John, the author of 'Stupid, Ugly, Unlucky and Rich' book.



Maybe, he just reiterates the golden rules well-known from the fairy-tales about Cinderellas but he does it very effectively.

By and large, I tend to agree with him about the dominant factors that leads to success. Also, I rather support his antithesis against the myths about success: smarts-looks-luck.

I would shorten the magic 8 to the following three:

• love what you do
• be persistent
• be smart

As you see, the latter contradict a little bit with what he supposed but I think it is just because of my slight English misunderstanding .

I know some people who have none of these qualities above but they are rich.

In Russian, we have a funny saying: if you are so smart why not rich?


Having seen this very impressing presentation, I thought about a definition of success for myself. What is it? To become rich? Or die trying? I am not sure...

The only thing I am absolutely sure about is that to write a book is a good way to become rich.

English course started

It started and it seemed started well. I like the group, I like the ambiance, I like the prof and I like the course.

Functions	Core Activities	Grammar and/or Elements of Language	Themes
Describe in detail the background of a complex professional situation Summarize a conference call, meeting, get-together, etc. Present and explain company operations, a product or service to an unprepared audience Negotiate and set conditions Express reservations about a product, service or project Persuade in order to market or sell a product Present a product or service to an audience or group Propose and defend a project or idea to a demanding audience	Case Studies and Analyses Simulations of All Types of Meetings The Pitch	Euphemisms Connotations Rhetorical devices in speech Collocations Correct application in discourse of all verb tenses, modals, conditionals, passives, gerunds & infinitives, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc.	Formal and informal meetings The business trip Telemarketing and sales Outsourcing Output, evaluation, performance and productivity

Looks well, doesn't it?

Honestly speaking it is exactly what I looked for when I was searching for a program to improve my linguistic competence. Sad to say but there is a difference between the French and English programs. The latter is more concentrated on real things, I would say it is cut out for my plans. (I may compare them because I have been taking both since the previous year.)

Ok, we'll see. As my new teacher said "this is a student driven course". I rather agree with that because I am sure that any education consists of 90% of self-education.

I'd like to notice the prof's pure linguistic attitude, he writes

Please keep in mind that I am not interested in your personal opinions. The fact that Hitler may be your idol or you really really believe George Bush is an honest God fearing man is not my business! I am interested in your ability to express yourself and produce the appropriate vocabulary to do so.

Ha-ha! Not bad? Indeed, he has a good sense of humor. So, let's go and do it together with Mr. Rick Juskow.

VPA3: Grant_Letter

Image Search Lab
888 Boulevard Toupique, Jincourt, QC, H3J 7B7
514-555-5555

Montreal City Council November 9, 2008
800, rue de La Gauchetière Ouest
Montréal (Québec)
Canada
H5A 1J6

Attention: Mr. Robert Lamontagne, Director General and Treasurer

Subject: Grant for image search research and development

Dear Mr. Lamontagne,

On behalf of Image Search Lab (ISL), I am requesting a grant in order to support the successful start of our company and promote its continuing growth in the next two years. Founded in 2008, ISL, a Montreal based company, focuses on image search technologies.


GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Our goal is to create a new technology which will make the image search as easy as the text search.

For this purpose we set as our objectives:

to develop an innovative, break-through image search engine based on the latest mathematical research in visual pattern comparison;
to provide an image database available for public access by internet.


TARGET POPULATION

ISL is oriented towards Hi-Tech companies and end users.

Our technologies of image identification and image background analysis help software companies create their own software products and services. For an instance, a software company can develop a face recognition solution to secure the entrance of a building. In the same way, an anti-piracy solution can facilitate organizations monitoring and proving facts of copyright breaching.

End users can also benefit by using our web site that hosts the image database and search engine. In particular, everyone can find a lot of images similar to a search sample in a split second.


PROJECT ACTIVITIES

At the current stage, we need to involve another mathematician on full-time basis in the research and development process.

For the next quarter, we also plan to upgrade three computers in our virtual modelling laboratory.

Taking into account the increasing number of images stored in our web site database and the accordingly growing traffic, we have to quadruple the web server capacity by the end of November.


KEY STAFF

At the moment, ISL has on board two programmers, two mathematicians and two partners who manage and develop the business, and, at the same time, participate in all key processes of technological research and development.

All our staff graduated from leading universities and have sound knowledge in appropriate domains and proven records in complex long-term projects. My partner Daniel Champagne and I both have MBAs and we have successfully launched two software start-ups in the past.


PLAN FOR MEASURING PROJECT RESULTS

We will send a report on current achievements in accordance with the project plan every quarter as well as a fiscal report of our expenses every year.

CURRENT PROGRAMS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

From the beginning of 2008, ISL has developed the basic algorithms of visual pattern search and the model of a self-learning image search engine. Besides, we are going to advance the research on the algorithm to allow for a comparative analysis of poor quality and small-sized images.

The next step in our roadmap is to release the alpha-candidate of our image search engine in the form of a web service this December; D. Champagne responsible.

Moreover, we will have extended the image database on our server up to one billion images by the end of the year; A. Levinsky responsible.

CONCLUSION

ISL has already made its first successful step; however, for the time being, we really need $300,000 financial assistance for these activities in order to achieve our challenging objectives.

This grant will allow our company to steadily evolve and to focus only on our research in next two years despite the economical crisis.

We really believe that our results will give new blood to the IT industry on the whole. In other words, hundreds of Canadian companies will get an additional opportunity to successfully run their businesses.

APPENDICES

Key Staff Resumes
Organization Operating Budget

With best regards,


Boruald Levinsky
Partner

VPA-2-Memo

Date: October 25, 2008

To: Luca Derette, secretary

From: John Doe, technical consultant

Subject: Message for Richard (Urgent!) and UPS Delivery


As you requested me to accept any calls during your absence, I accepted one yesterday. Some Ms. Lucien (I am not sure about her name) from Perfect Events Inc. called to Mr. Richard about their meeting in restaurant next Wednesday. She was a little bit nervous because she had unsuccessfully tried to reach him a few times. If I understood her correctly, she would like to re-arrange that meeting. Her cellular is 514- 911-0202. She asked me, too, to make a message for Mr. Richard. I suppose it would be much better if you will have Mr. President informed.

Also, please, do me a favour! Today I am going to work from home. I left a small box for delivery on your desk. I have filled in all needed address information, the delivery is paid by UPS; so, the only thing left to do is hand in this parcel to someone who will arrive from UPS this afternoon. If not, please, give me a call on my cellular 514 777-3330. Thank you in advance!

VPA1-MissionStatement

Founded in 2008, Image Search Lab (ISL) is a Montreal based company focusing on image search. Our goal is to provide a new technology in image searching based on cutting edge visual pattern recognition algorithms. It will enable Hi-Tech companies or end users to make image search as easy as text search.

A small team of programmers, mathematicians and managers have established their goal to develop an innovative, break-through image search engine. This will facilitate software companies to create their own products in image identification and image background analysis.

Day by day, increasing the database to billions of images ISL opens unlimited horizons in the use of visual information.