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The word FÚLMINE used here is actually a name. FÚLMINE is a character created by Guillermo Divito (1914-1969), an Argentinian cartoonist. FÚLMINE was a bad-luck bringer though nothing bad happened to him but to those he talked to. If something good happened to one character it was bad news if FÚLMINE was around. Whatever good happened the opposite was bound to occur once FÚLMINE left. The character became somewhat popular in Latin America and in Ecuador the character's name is commonly associated to those who are believed to bring bad luck. Public figures are favorite targets of this misplaced action. Not long ago the current Ecuadorian president attended a soccer match to see his favorite soccer team play. Needless to say his team lost as it happened the last time the president attended a previous match. This team's fans "figured out" that the president was a FÚLMINE,  a belief that with good humor the president himself decided to share so he stopped attending ...

A Portmanteau is not a port and it is not a word, but a combination of words and their meanings into one. One good example of that is the word Info mercial which is the result of the blending of the words Information and  Commercial . A Portmanteau takes from the meanings of the words that were used to make it up and at the same time it does not because it is created to refer to a new concept. Here is another example:  Br unch , a term that results from the combination of the words Breakfast and  Lunch. It is neither but that quick meal that you take in the mid-morning, too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. What is the translation of Portmanteau in Spanish? There is none for the meaning used here, but Portmanteau may also refer to what in Spanish is called BAUL DE VIAJE. The name Guayaquil would be another example of a portmanteau.

As you can see in the picture, the expression is TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT (you can also say LONG STORY SHORT). It is like saying I´m going to give you nothing but the facts. For some reason that escapes me there is a connotation  to this expression in English and that is TOO LATE. It is perhaps a reference to the fact that by the time this is expression is said there is nothing we can do to solve the problem we're told.

"Nooo, I forgot my parachute!" If you like movies that are somewhat different then probably you will enjoy this film. I don´t know much about the first version (the one I saw is a remake ) which was in its turn based on a book by James Thurber. This character Walter Mitty  is played by Ben Stiller who does not really disappoint. His presence in the screen is always fresh and genuine and whenever he appeared he was always believable in a setting that is anything but that. Walter is an employee of LIFE magazine who is constant daydreamer. He mixes reality with his own dreams whenever things turn sour. At the same time LIFE is about to finish printing in paper and start publication in digital form only. for the last edition he is entrusted to use a photo taken by a legendary photographer Sean O' Connell (Sean Penn). O' Connell seems to have forgotten to send that photo in particular and Walter in despair decides to go looking for him. This decision will change Wa...

10. Stop writing stupid lists!!! New Year's Purposes? New Year's Aims? New Year's Objectives? New Year's Decisions? New Year's Determinations? Well, all of those are fine and sound fine and yet none of them is right. The correct expression is NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS. The word Resolution is usually defined as a firm decision to do something. These resolutions are always expressed with a verb in base form, that is no TO or any other form of conjugation, just the verb as it is. Which one is the number one RESOLUTION in most new year's lists? As you can see in the photo it is to lose weight.

The answer is yes, we can but there is no point in doing so since no one else does. and even if we decided to go and say: "Merry New Year!" the response we would get is an expression of ssurprise on the face of our interlocutor like saying "What?" Let's begin by saying that for all celebrations we only use the word Happy. We say Happy Easter, Happy Halloween, Happy Birthday and so on. The only time when we use the word Merry before a holiday is when we say "Merry Christmas!" Some people say "it doesn't sound right to say Merry New Year". Curiously enough it is ok to say "Happy Christmas!" (at least in England) but only if you are going to wish a happy Christmas and leave New Year's Eve for a later occassion (provided that you are going to meet that person again before New Year's and after Christmas). Perhaps it is the proximity in between both holidays what causes all this problem. Our necessity to wish the be...

This is a movie that should not be taken lightly because there is a lot of philosophical background behind it. The reason for that is that it is based on a novel of the same title by American writer, Orson Scott Card. It won both the Nebula and the Hugo awards in 1985 and 1986 respectively and those are the two most prestigious prizes awarded to only the best Science Fiction stories and though a story about the future Ender's Game is also a reflection of the time when it was written, the mid eighties. It has finally been adapted to the big screen and the result is really consistent. This is a future where Earth has been invaded already by aliens that mindlessly killed millions of people. The invasion was averted but only barely and for fifty years those same aliens have not come back. In all that time mankind has been preparing for a new attack and the authorities have decided that to prevent a new attack Earth will attack first. In view of that they have re imagined their mi...