Picture of my village ,Paralio Astros

Hello all .I send you some pictures of my village, and some words from its history.
I have grow up here since 1985 and I loved this place. Maybe the reason is that I love the sea . This is not island but it seems to you like island.

I’d like to see your pictures from your place that you live.

In April 1823, accommodated the 2nd Constitutional Assembly of the Greeks. The building that the Constitutional Assembly took place (next to the Ancient Museum) is a beautiful neoclassic building and it is described as perceivable monument. In Paralio Astros there is a gothic Venetian castle in the south peek of the hill. The natives used to say it "Island". In the latest years the castle was formatted in a strong, defensive complex. It has quadrilateral top view and keeps a big section of the fortification enclosure. In 18th century, three brothers (merchants from abroad) Zafeiropouloi, returned to their country in order to combat against the Turks.
On the same hill you can distinguish the sections of the wall of classical ages. From the castle, the view from Argolicos gulf is fabulous. The "Island" is the most graphical section of Paralio Astros with the traditional stone-made houses. At the edge of the dock there is a beautiful outdoor amphitheatre. The port has the ability to keep many sailing boats every summer

There is a continuous road connection from Paralio Astros to Athens- which is capital of Greece- with buses (duration 2 hours). Also the distance from Historical Nafplion is 30 km.

Close to Paralio Astros there is the hygrograph of Moustos, a beautiful lake which feeds from a source with brackish water. It is a rest station of emigrant birds and entertain a big variety of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles, and a small number of Careta-Careta turtles. The lake is connected to the sea with two artificial channels. The hygrograph is placed among the Natural European Network 2000 as a protected area, and is offered for a quiet walk.

http://arcadia.ceid.upatras.gr/arkadia/places/pastros/1.html In this link you can see all the pictures.

Manzano Mountains Slideshow

I've sent links to web pages about and pictures of Mountainair - where I live. This slide show of the nearby Manzano Mountains shows a greener side of the region.

Understanding the Sentence

Word recognition, decoding, and spelling are important skills in sorting out the meaning of a sentence, but good syntactic and working memory skills are also needed to get the job done.  Find out more in Education Connection's "Sentence Comprehension: The Connection to Reading Skills."  

http://www.brainconnection.com/content/4_1  

This segment is the fourth in a six-part series called Reading Fundamentals. 

http://www.brainconnection.com/library/?main=eduhome/reading-fundamentals

Writing Podcasts

Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.

Podcasts and transcript deliver grammar tips in a cool and fun way.  

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/      

Kaii Higashiyama: A Retrospective

I subscribe to "Art Knowledge News" as a source for another blog (Mountainair Arts). When this arrived in my mailbox, I thought of Sadamu and also about a class writing project.

Here's your ASSIGNMENT: write us about an artist in or from your country. Educate us about your culture. Research but don't just copy something from a website. Put it in your own words. Don't forget to include at least one picture and a link to the artist's work. You can write about any kind of visual art - painters, muralists, filmmakers, photographers, sculptors, architects. and so on. Your artist does not have to be alive and can be from any period.

TOKYO - The National Museum of Modern Art opened the exhibit Kaii Higashiyama: A Retrospective through May 18. A highly praised postwar Japanese-style painter who became widely popular among the public, Kaii Higashiyama (1908-1999) is known for his landscapes conveying deep expression of the painter's inner world. Commemorating the 100th anniversary of his birth, this retrospective tries to capture the essence of Higashiyama's art by presenting 100 important works, ranging from early pieces such as Afterglow and Road, to later works including the screen paintings for Toshodaiji Temple, Sound of Waves and Balmy Wind in Yangchou.
Born in Yokohama, Higashiyama graduated from the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1931. He was awarded the Japan Art Institute prize in 1956. In 1968 he completed large murals on the New Imperial Palace, and in 1969 he was given the Order of Cultural Merits and designated as a person with cultural merit. In 1975 and 1980, he completed murals in Tōshōdai-ji.

The famous Japanese master Kaii Higashiyama has generously donated more than 700 of his works (paintings, studies, sketches, etc.) to the museum. To house and display these works, the Higashiyama Kaii Gallery was built and opened in April of 1990.

The gallery holds paintings such as "Vibrant Greens", "Forest with a White Horse", and "Evening Quiet", and also series of sketches such as "Landscape in Europe", "Journey into Tohoku and Shinshu", "Landscape in China", "Landscape in Northern Europe":, "Four Seasons in Kyoto", "Landscape with a White Horse" and "Spring and Autumn in Yamato". There are also sketches and studies for the Nitten Exhibition and for the Toshodai-ji Murals which show his inspiration and the process of painting.

(copied and pasted from http://www.artknowledgenews.com//Kaii_Higashiyama.html)

I'll write something about a Southwestern artist but first its your turn...

WRITING: What is the TWE?

The Test of Written English (TWE) is a required part of the Computer-Based TOEFL. You must compose an essay in thirty minutes. This demonstrates your academic writing proficiency in the following:

1. Generating and organizing ideas on paper.
2. Supporting those ideas with evidence or examples.
3. Using the conventions of standard written English.
   

TWE test results help institutions evaluate your academic writing proficiency and decide how to place you in writing courses.

What is the TWE? explains the TWE, its function, how it is scored, and sample essays.

In general, model TOEFL essays concentrate on: Suitable word usage; Content; Organization; Examples / Evidence; Formal writing style; Correct grammar and Sentence variety.

The best way to prepare for any writing test is by writing. Here are some sites to help you prepare for the TWE:

• Argument & Opinion Essay Writing
• TWE Topics
• Findcore Online Writing Practice
• Practice your TOEFL essay, computer scored in real time.
• Writing Argumentative Essays
• Basic Guide to Essay Writing
• The Five Paragraph Essay Wizard
• Structure of the Five Paragraph Essay
• Five Paragraph Essay Sample, with comments and outline form
• How to write Simple English, from "Simple Wikepedia" (a good source for reading practice)
• ESL Writing Links

Read The Words

How would you use this application to improve your English skills? Would you use it only for listening? How could you use it to improve reading and writing? Post your ideas and thought as comments to this post.

How Read the Words Works

First, You must create an account. Accounts are completely free and ready to go in less than 1 minute. Your information will never be shared with 3rd parties. Once you create an account, you will be taken to the “My Readings Page”. You can manage your current Readings and create new ones by Clicking the button, Create New Reading.

Step 1 - Select what you want read

• Upload Adobe PDF
• Upload MS Word
• Upload HTML File
• Write Text Content
• Cut and Past Text
• Input Website Address
• Input RSS Feeds URL

Step 2 - Select a Reader

• Listen to Reader’s samples
• Choose 1 of 14 Different Readers
• Each Reader has a Unique Voice and Some Have Accents
• Control your Reader’s Speed
• Play with your Reader’s Pitch
• It takes our readers approx 1 minute to generate a 1 hr long recording

Step 3 - Sit Back and Listen

• Listen to your reading online
• Download your reading to your ipod or other mp3 player
• Broadcast your reading as a podcast and share it
• Post your reading in your Website or Blog
• Save yourself Time
• Turn the readers of your blog into listeners
• Allow your readers to listen while they multi-task and download your blog