How Americans Celebrate Independence Day

Questions with Partners

• Who is the most interesting person you ever met? Why?
• What thing that you haven't yet done would you most like to do?

Discussion Topic: AMERICA

1. How would you characterize American people? In what ways are they different from Ukrainians? In what ways are they the same?

2. What do you think are the best parts of American Culture? What are the worst?

3. What do you know about how Americans celebrate Independence Day? How is it different from how Ukrainians celebrate on the 24th of August?

4. If you were to visit America, what you like to see or do there?

Group Contest:

Trivia About America

A Winner of the Contest "TRIVIA ABOUT AMERICA" (Alex - right). Our Congratulations!

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American Sculptures in Denmark (2011) (by Rico Eastman; Tim Prentice)

On July 6, 2011 the participants of Discovery Club (10)  (Vinnytsia Information Center “Window on America”) had a presentation “Sculptures by the Sea: Great Experience in the Open Air” where it was also presented some sculptures by American artists. “The concept for Sculpture by the Sea was the culmination of many years thinking, where a new step in the thought process came up every year or so”, says David Handley, Founding Director. Essentially the exhibition came to create a major free to the public arts event for Sydney. A number of key people fron various countries fell for the idea and helped to make the exhibition a reality. With approximate 500.000 visitors over a period of 3 1/2 weeks, Sculpture by the Sea, Aarhus - Denmark was a fantastic success, embraced by the Danes and many international tourists visiting Denmark. 

Visitors can look forward to seeing 65 exciting new sculptures by artists from 22 nations around the world including China, USA (Rico Eastman, USA, Tim Prentice, USA), Mexico, Japan, Iran, India, Australia and Denmark. "Sculpture by the Sea" Aarhus is a fantastic chance to see art in an untraditional way. The exhibition brings people out into natural surroundings, and then they will see art through new eyes. At the same time, the exhibition is so delightfully undemanding. You can come when you want, and this year people will again take the exhibition to their hearts and have some delightful experiences in the meeting of nature and sculpture”. 

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the first exhibition of steel sculpture by Sir Anthony Caro OM CBE, who is considered one of the most influential and prolific sculptors of his generation. The exhibition is on the rooftop of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, with unparalleled views of the New York City skyline and features work over the past decades through to works from his recent 'Upright Series'.  The first of Caro's 'Upright Series' was Erl King which is exhibited in Denmark too.

The sculptures on show are Midday, 1960 (Museum of Modern Art, New York), After Summer, 1968 (Collection of Audrey and David Mirvish, Toronto), Odalisque, 1984 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), Blazon, 1987–90 (Courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York and Annely Juda Fine Art, London), and End Up, 2010 (Collection of the artist, courtesy of Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York). 

Read More: http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/image-gallery/aarhus.aspx?Year=2011&Location=Outdoor 

July 4 Barbecue From America's Melting Pot

Independence Day is the biggest grilling day of the year, according to the Hearth, Patio and Barbecue Association, and burgers are the most popular meal. 

On the Fourth of July, America's melting pot becomes a red-hot grill. Korean-Americans might lay down salty-sweet kalbi, beef short ribs seasoned with sesame and eaten in a lettuce wrap. Japanese families might serve up yakitori, dainty skewered bits of chicken liver, pork belly, shishito peppers, shiitake mushrooms or prawns with the head on. And a mixed grill from Latin America could be Argentine steak with bacon and eggs, Uruguayan Pamplona — chicken breast stuffed with ham, cheese and peppers — or sensual Peruvian chicken marinated in cumin, garlic and yellow chilies. Look over the fence to your Australian neighbors and you'll see "shrimp on the barbie," while the Greek family on the other side might be charring oregano-dusted octopus.

All over the world, people have been grilling since they discovered fire, and when they came to the United States they brought their signature flavors with them. Many of these flavors have, of course, made their way into American barbecue traditions.

Barbecue expert Steven Raichlen provides examples of what immigrants have brought to the grill: In California, Mexican ranch hands contributed Santa Maria Tri Tip, sirloin steak served with salsa and pinquito beans, the small pink sister of Boston baked beans; in the Midwest, an Austrian immigrant introduced bratwurst, an often beer-poached sausage that's a staple of Wisconsin cookouts and any self-respecting college football tailgate; and in the Texas Hill Country, the beef links known as Texas Hot Guts came from the Czechs who settled the region.

"When you go to Italy or Argentina, they are so happy and content with their local grilling tradition that they would never dream of augmenting it," Raichlen says. "But we have this wonderful gift, because we're a nation of immigrants, to embrace foods and make them our own."

More Info: http://www.npr.org/2011/06/29/137472461/july-4-barbecue-from-americas-melting-pot

Independence Day July 4th

Independence Day July 4th

"On July 4, 1776, we claimed our independence from Britain and Democracy was born. Every day thousands leave their homeland to come to the "land of the free and the home of the brave" so they can begin their American Dream".

The United States is truly a diverse nation made up of dynamic people. Each year on July 4, Americans celebrate that freedom and independence with barbecues, picnics, and family gatherings. 

You are welcome to get to know more from our BOOK DISPLAY on Independence Day!

More Info: The Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMYEJ7qCGd4

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/notes/american-library-kyiv/july-4th-happy-birthday-america/184001354987118

Richard Ford and Susan Sontag More About America ...

Interactive sessions and Trainings For U!

English Club's participants, you are welcome to participate in activities organized by Margaret Hankamp (American PC Volunteer (in Bar). What: interactive sessions and trainings. When: July 14 and July 21. Time: 17.30. Where: Information Center "Window on America" (Research Library named after K.A. Timiriazev, Department of Foreign Literature).

More info: tel. 35-10-59

July 14 - Writing Your Best Resume

July 21 - How to Interview

Summer Movie Session

The users of Vinnytsia Information Center "Window on America" have their summer adventures with ... "Pirates of the Caribbean". They had their first discussion on a movie from a producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pearl Harbor) "Pirates of the Carribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", the thrilling, high-seas adventure with a mysterious twist. Rich in suspence-filled adventure, sword-clashing action, mystery, humor, unforgettable characters and never-before-seen special effects, Pirates is a must-have epic on the grandest scale ever.

"Adventure, Rousing Fun and Excitement on a Grand Scale" (David Sheehan, GBS-TV).

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The story follows blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as they rescue the kidnapped Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) from the cursed crew of the Black Pearl, captained by Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

After 50 Years, Remembering Hemingway's Farewell

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Ernest Hemingway was 61 years old when he shot and killed himself, 50 years ago, on July 2, 1961

Fifty years ago, on July 2, 1961, the writer who seemed to personify courage and strength put a shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Ernest Hemingway was 61 years old. He was a boxer, a boozer, a philanderer and big-game hunter who wrote some of the most sublime prose of the English language: short, sharp, piercing sentences that told stories about soldiers, lovers, hunters, bravery, fear and death.

Hemingway had seven novels published in his lifetime, including The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms; six short story collections, and two memoirs. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, and he once wrote that he didn't regret that all the time he had spent shooting lions, catching marlins, chasing Nazi submarines, drinking, carousing and telling tall tales in bars had taken him away from his work. In 1938, he wrote:  In going where you have to go, and doing what you have to do, and seeing what you have to see, you dull and blunt the instrument you write with. But I would rather have it bent and dull and know I had to put it on the grindstone again and hammer it into shape and put a whetstone to it, and know that I had something to write about, than to have it bright and shining and nothing to say, or smooth and well-oiled in the closet, but unused.

More Info: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/02/137540700/after-50-years-remembering-hemingways-farewell