Latin? She Must Be Joking!

Advantages: It's helpful and very satisfying.
Disadvantages: You must study grammar.

...(I?m sure there are members who know all about grammar, and certainly some who are much better Latin scholars than I am. This opinion is meant for absolute beginners, but the textbook and website may be of interest to others). Teach Yourself Book, £6.99 Book and cassettes £15.43 Double CD (available soon). This opinion is certainly one of the biggest challenges I?ve ever taken on, for how on earth do I convince people who?ve never learnt Latin that it?s worth a go ? I can?t employ my usual argument : that it opens doors when you visit a country, and helps you to get much more out of a holiday. But it does have other advantages. How I came to Latin. I did Latin O-level at school, but in a rather unsatisfactory way. A friend and I in the upper sixth suddenly discovered that to do an honours degree in an Arts subject we needed...

Schmutzie 21.07.2003 (22.07.2003) · Read review
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Review of Teach Yourself Latin for Beginners

The Best of British - 'Black Boots on Latin Feet'

Advantages: Smooth without being sappy,melodic without being poppy.Really are a refreshingly different band.
Disadvantages: In one or two of the songs,the spanish guitar solos can be a little self indulgent and go on a bit

...Ezio are one of the best understated British talents of our time and it really is a shame that they dont have a massive following. They have been performing since 1990 in the university town of Cambridge. The band took their name from one of the band members Ezio Lunedei. Black Boots on Latin Feet is their second (but Debut) album (produced by Rupert Hine in 1995). Although the album is new, the band have a mature vibe with lyrics that are honest and reflective (songs like '30 and confused' really struck a chord with me, accurately reflecting the experience of this significant age). The album is refreshingly different to almost all other British bands and is the perfect counter-act to the Brit Pop scene of the time that was aimed at a much younger market. The feel of the music is melodic and smooth but musicians will see how...

SpookyMoon 29.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Black Boots On Latin Feet - Ezio

Why Latin is a useful subject

Advantages: Is a good base for learning most languages
Disadvantages: is difficult but so what?

...When I tell people that Im doing Latin for A level all i hear is "you're mad!!Its a dead language!!What's the point in doing it??"What's the point in doing latin??Hello, its what most modern languages are based on!!If you do latin it is so much easier to learn other languages, simply because you'll have a better understanding of the language you're learning. It's the foundation of so many languages!!Would you build a building without foundations??It might stand for a while but it'll never be perfect. Its the same with languages...if you know the foundations your understanding of the language is so much better!!!So many people nowadays cant even write decent english, and the problem would be far less if people actually understood the language!How many people do you know who actually know what the genitive is??Luckily in English you can...

rowanmk1789 26.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Latin

Lords of the Mafia - Columbian / Latin American Cartels

Advantages: More of a documentary on Pablo Escobar
Disadvantages: Not really a documentary on the whole columbian cartels

......

Capodon 23.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Lords Of The Mafia - Colombian / Latin American Cartels (DVD)

Venezuela - My Latin Lover

Advantages: Great natural beauty
Disadvantages: Pollution from cars

...has an extensive and very good coach industry with a decent amount of competition keeping prices down. There are no trains and flight are not cheap. Some places such as Canaima, the gateway to Angel Falls, is only accessible by air and for that you have no option but for travel between cities the coaches are excellent. Firstly they are safe to use at night so you can save on accommodation if on a budget, they are so well air conditioned locals turn up with blankets and I copied them after waking up freezing on the first night of travel, they have wonderful reclining seats and a toilet that is best visited only if needs must, they are also pretty efficient and even have timetables which they sort of stick to but do remember in Latin America time is viewed differently. They are also cheap; I travelled across the country from Maracay to...

atticusuk 26.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of General: Venezuela

Mind Your Language, S'il Vous Plait

Advantages: useful to learn, good fun, tests your brain, teaches you grammatical rules
Disadvantages: tests your brain, teaches you grammatical rules

...I have always had an interest in foreign languages, which I think stems from us having French students staying with us during my childhood. We had a three-storey terraced house, with the tiny top floor ideal for a student flat, so my parents had a stream of (mainly) French teenagers using our facilities for a few weeks at a time. Add to this the fact that my Mum was studying French at college, so I was rather surrounded by the language and kind of took it all in really, without noticing. This gave me a bit of a head start when French lessons began at secondary school and as I did well, my confidence increased. As often happens, when you do well in something, you put the effort in, so learn effectively and the circle continues! I began German lessons at school, then Latin, although French was always my strongest subject, along...

KarenUK 14.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of LANGUAGES - LATIN

Latin for the uneducated.

Advantages: Definitly different
Disadvantages: Just the slightest bit wordy

...I picked up a copy of Catullus, quite by accident really. Looked interesting in an educated sort of way. And well it certainly opened my eyes, to *just* what the Roman has been doing. The vast majority of Catullus's work (at least what I've read of it) is marvellously backbiting gossip, reprimanding friends for bad habits, spreading rumours about their sexuality, longing for his lover. Indeed it's like a modern soap opera, except it's poetry, and terrifically entertaining with it. The work is witty, light and the tone above all is one of wryness, but also a vitality. You imagine Catullus as being an energetic person, someone with time for men and woman (he didn't discriminate, if it meant he could have the best of both worlds!) I read some in their original Latin, but as a previous reviewer said, that kinda took the fun...

AmberHall 31.03.2006 · Read review
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Review of Selected Poems - Catullus

Latin Diva

Advantages: Beautiful lullaby voice, subtle but effective jazz backing
Disadvantages: None, all the songs are classics

...Astrud Gilberto is, in my opinion, the best female Latin-American singer to ever grace the face of the earth. Her voice is completely relaxed, free and easy; it is as if she isn’t even trying! Just hearing her voice conjures up images of Rio, sandy beaches, and the carnival. Astrud Gilberto sings Bossa nova and Samba. She first came to prominence in the mid sixties, when she sung the famous ‘Girl From Ipanema’ with her husband of the time Joao Gilberto. She recorded several albums with Joao and also jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, which all had critical acclaim. Most of the albums were recorded under the infamous Verve jazz label. Which brings us to this album. The Astrud Gilberto Album is a collection of her recordings on the Verve label from the mid to late 60’s, when she was in the prime of her career...

joannahudson 02.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Silver Collection - Astrud Gilberto

Illud iterum dicere potes!

Advantages: Bene!
Disadvantages: Non!

...This wonderful little book was presented to me many years ago after I had completed a Latin seminar (what would turn out to be the last of my language courses as an undergraduate). It was a wonderful gift, and I have found much use for the various phrases, and an extraordinary amount of humour that can be derived from the blandest of statements when translated into Latin. For example, the innocuous phrase 'Darn! There goes my beeper!' becomes quite funny in Latin: Heu! Tintinnuntius meus sonat! One has visions of Caesar fumbling through his tunic for some beeping object. As one might readily object -- how can there be a word in Latin for beeper (or bleeper)? Such things did not exist. Author Henry Beard had to improvise, but then again, that is what langauges have been doing, well, at least since the Roman times. One can see...

frkurt 13.11.2006 · Read review
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Review of Latin for All Occasions - Henry Beard

The Latin Legend Ricky Martin UNPLUGGED

Advantages: Amazing songs, real music, feels like you were at the recording, subtitles in different languages
Disadvantages: People who can't understand Spanish may find it difficult to understand what Ricky says

...Ricky Martin is THE legend of Latin music and in my opinion always will be! His MTV Unplugged DVD is by far the most entertaining and cultural music DVD ever made. I really enjoy watching it! It has a 'feel good' quality about it, and is also quite educational in learning about a different culture and the Spanish/Latin American language, which I think is truly beautiful. For some reason, I felt proud watching it... it really makes you reflect on your life though, because the songs are quite emotional (not to the point of crying though. Obviously I don't cry over a song! haha). Ricky's vocals are flawless and he has his own destinctive sound. There's no gimics or editing just the live sound of Ricky's voice and very talented instrument players who have obviously rehearsed and rehearsed until they reached perfection. This live recording...

super_reviewer 20.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of Ricky Martin - MTV Unplugged (DVD)