GO VIRAL ON/OVER THE INTERNET = VIRAR FEBRE NA INTERNET

"In the very likely case that you're on the Internet right now, you already know what a "meme" is. But you may not realize that the concept -- a meaningless phrase, image or joke getting repeated endlessly for no reason at all -- predates the Internet generation by a long shot."

Meme = A unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another (a replicator).

       "Last week, this really crappy pop song by a teenager with rich parents went viral. It was called “Friday” and ..."
       "The clip went viral over the summer".
       "The near-constant playing of the buzz-sounding vuvuzela instrument during games of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa led to numerous vuvuzela-based memes, including YouTube temporarily adding a vuvuzela effect that could be added to any video during the World Cup."
       "One of the most hated and loved Internet memes of recent memory is Boxxy, who posted a video of herself back January 2009 that went viral..."
       "Insane Foreign Memes That Put Lolcats To Shame"

Gente! There is a whole world out there! We have to keep up with it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7fJPDPuUzo

APAGÃO = BLACKOUT = SNAFU(?)

SNAFU is an acronym that stands for Situation normal: all fucked up. It is sometimes bowdlerized to Situation normal: all fouled up or similar.  In simple terms, it means that the normal situation is in a bad state, as it always is, therefore nothing unexpected. It's usually used in jest, or as a sign of frustration. The acronym is believed to have originated in the US Army during World War II.
            In modern usage, snafu is sometimes used as an interjection. Snafu also sometimes refers to a bad situation, mistake, or cause of trouble. For example, in 2005, The New York Times published an article titled "Hospital Staff Cutback Blamed for Test Result Snafu".

"The more ignorant you are about a subject, the easier it seems to you.'"

From: http://ginstrom.com/scribbles/2011/01/13/the-dunning%E2%80%93kruger-effect-and-you:
            "The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to realize their mistakes." (Wikipedia)

             ...

As a corollary, the more we know about a subject, the more likely we are to know our limitations.

...

 “Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread.”

This is food for thought.

ERRO MÉDICO = NEGLIGÊNCIA MÉDICA >MALPRACTICE

           iatrogenia (sf): Med. Doença ou alteração patológica decorrente de medicamento ou tratamento médico. [Costuma designar erros resultantes da conduta médica]
           malpractice: Improper or negligent treatment of a patient, as by a physician, resulting in injury, damage, or loss. Improper or unethical conduct by the holder of a professional or official position. The act or an instance of improper practice. Improper or immoral conduct of a professional in the performance of his duties, done either intentionally or through carelessness or ignorance; commonly applied to physicians, surgeons, dentists, lawyers, and public officers to denote negligent or unskillful performance of duties where professional skills are obligatory. Misconduct, lack of ordinary skill, or breach of duty in the performance of a professional service (e.g., in medicine) that results in injury or loss. The plaintiff must usually demonstrate a failure by the professional to perform according to the field's accepted standards

DEVERAS, ASSAZ

Termos em desuso?
"Deveras interessante a análise feita por este periódico sobre o desfecho processual da Operação XXX."
              deveras (adv): Ex.: Na verdade, realmente, de fato: Merecia deveras um severo castigo. [para destacar ou reafirmar a veracidade do que se diz ou para enfatizar a relevância de algo.]  //indeed, downrightly, in earnest, truly, really, certainly, in fact. Ex.: I am truly fed up > Estou deveras aborrecido.
              assaz (adv): Muito, demais - Ex.: O cliente ficou assaz interessado no projeto [que tal escrever isso em um relatório - será que vão entender? rs, rs, rs...!].  Bastante, suficientemente - Ex.: Ela é assaz sincera para dizer o que sente. //enough, sufficiently, tolerably.
                      (pr.indef): Muito, demais - Ex.: O casal age com assaz complacência em relação aos filhos. Bastante, suficiente - Ex.: O magistrado decidiu-se com assaz prudência.

O poeta é um fingidor.

Finge tão completamente

Que chega a fingir que é dor

A dor que deveras sente.

            - Fernando Pessoa

SONHOS & ILUSÕES / DREAMS & DELUSIONS

              Dream: [sonho] A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. A daydream; a reverie.A state of abstraction; a trance. A wild fancy or hope. A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of owning their own business. One that is exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful: Our new car runs like a dream.
              Delusion [ilusão,delírio]: The act or process of deluding [delude]: - To deceive the mind or judgment of: fraudulent ads that delude consumers into sending in money. See synonyms at deceive. The state of being deluded. A false belief or opinion: labored under the delusion that success was at hand. Psychiatry. A false belief strongly held in spite of invalidating evidence, especially as a symptom of mental illness: delusions of persecution [delírios de perseguição].
Source: Answers.com

BETWEEN vs. AMONG

Most people adhere to the general rule: “between” is used for choices that involve two items, and “among” for three or more. You can also use the word “between” when you're talking about distinct individual items even if there are more than two of them. For example, "she chose between coffee, tea and water". Here, you can use “between” because the drinks are individual items. You can also use “between” in one-to-one relationships:
         "she chose between the ball and the Frisbee", and
         "let's keep this between you and me".
Those are examples where there is a one-to-one relationship -- you use the word “between” as opposed to “among”. Other times “between” can be used where there are more items when you’re referring to groups or people. For example:
         "the negotiations between the lawyers, the buyers and the sellers were going well", and
         "the differences between English, Chinese and Arabic are significant".
These are classic cases when you would use “between” even though it's more than two items.
Alternatively, you can use “among” when you're talking about things that are not distinct items or individuals. For example, if you were talking about colleges collectively you could say "she chose among the State schools". If you're talking about a group of people you also use “among”. For example:
         "fear spread among the prisoners", and
         "the scandal in the school caused uproar among the parents".
These are two very good examples of when you use “among”. Another instance where you use “among” is when you're part of a group:
         "there is a code of honour among thieves", and
         "upon returning from her long trip she found that she felt like a stranger among friends".
Here it indicates that someone is part of a group or they're left out of a group.
Another case is location. “Between” and “among” can also tell the reader different things about a location or a direction that they're taking. For example, when I give you these example sentences I want you to think about the differences:
         "she walked between the trees", and
         "she walked among the trees".
The first sentence, "she walked between the trees", gives you the idea that she stayed on a path or that she's either walking between two trees or she was on one route surrounded by trees on both sides. As opposed to "she walked among the trees". Here you get the sense, or you get the idea, that she was in a park or forest surrounded by trees all around. She's walking among trees. It doesn't sound as if there is a defined path.
That's a good way to see the difference between the two with respect to location and the feeling of the different contexts when you use “among” and “between” -- and the sense you get when you use both of them.
Finally, you can see it's not always as easy using the general rule that a lot of people follow, i.e. that between is for two things and among is for three or more things. Use the terms in the context and don't always follow the general rule.
Source: http://www.translegal.com/legal-english-lessons/between-vs-among-2

UTILIZAR vs. USAR

UTILIZE vs. USE:  Are there circumstances where 'utilized' is better than 'used'? Or has a different meaning?
            A number of critics have remarked that utilize is an unnecessary substitute for use. It is true that many occurrences of utilize could be replaced by use with no loss to anything but pretentiousness, for example, in sentences such as They utilized questionable methods in their analysis or We hope that many commuters will continue to utilize mass transit after the bridge has reopened. But utilize can mean "to find a profitable or practical use for." Thus the sentence The teachers were unable to use the new computers might mean only that the teachers were unable to operate the computers, whereas The teachers were unable to utilize the new computers suggests that the teachers could not find ways to employ the computers in instruction.

Usar e Utilizar – diferenças de uso.

Sempre que o uso for específico, usa-se a palavra usar.
        - Foram usados uma faca para cortar carne e um garfo para comer arroz.
Quando for preciso substituir, utiliza-se utilizar.
        - Utilizei uma faca para parafusar uma dobradiça, pois não havia uma chave de fenda para usar.
        - Utilizei uma chaleira para ferver leite, pois a leiteira foi utilizada para ferver água.

LIers cope with poor air quality

LIers = Long Islanders (Long Island people)
A layer of smog hung over Long Island Thursday, prompting some residents to change their outdoor plans.

CAPTCHA

Sabe aqueles números e letras que pedem para você digitar antes de alguma operação no computador para evitar entradas automáticas?
Isso se chama CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart). A category of technologies used to ensure that a human is making an online transaction rather than a computer. Developed at Carnegie Mellon University, random words or letters are displayed in a camouflaged and distorted fashion so that they can be deciphered by people, but not by software. Users are asked to type in the text they see to verify they are human.
Source: http://www.answers.com/topic/captcha-1#ixzz1RSexLUe2

MAL >< BEM MAU >< BOM

mal-humorado / bem-humorado
mal-estar / bem-estar
mal escrito / bem escrito
praticar o mal / praticar o bem
mal-afamado / bem-afamado

mau funcionamento / bom funcionamento
em mau português / em bom português
má-criação / boa criação
mau humor / bom humor

GRATITUDE

A Chinese Fable: The Tiger and the Cat
                Once upon a time, a tiger asked a cat to teach him her skills, and he promised he would not eat her. Day after day the cat taught her tricks to the tiger patiently. One day, the tiger thought that he had learned everything and now he could eat the cat. But as the tiger approached the cat, the cat jumped onto a nearby tall tree and climbed to the top branch.
               The tiger then realized that the cat had not taught him how to climb trees. And to this date, tigers can't climb trees. They can just stand there and stare. That's the punishment for their ungratefulness.
               Gratitude is a trait of a person of character. In every phase of our lives we meet a lot of different people and many will help us. And even though someone who helps does not expect a compensation, a person of character will be grateful.
Moral da história: "Nem tudo os mestres ensinam aos seus discípulos".

LETTER OF THE LAW VS. SPIRIT OF THE LAW

             The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is an idiomatic antithesis. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words (the "letter") of the law, but not the intent of those who wrote the law. Conversely, when one obeys the spirit of the law but not the letter, one is doing what the authors of the law intended, though not necessarily adhering to the literal wording.
             with the spirit, as well as the letter, of the law = dentro do espírito e dos termos da lei
             letter and spirit of the law = letra e espírito da lei

SERIAL COMMA DROPPED

The University of Oxford styleguide has decided that as ‘a general rule’the use of the serial comma should be avoided.
What is a serial comma? E.g.: "a, b, and c" (it is the comma before the "and") - Here’s the official entry:
"As a general rule, do not use the serial/Oxford comma: so write ‘a, b and c’ not ‘a, b, and c’. But when a comma would assist in the meaning of the sentence or helps to resolve ambiguity, it can be used – especially where one of the items in the list is already joined by ‘and’: The serial comma, dubbed the Oxford comma because of its use by writers and editors based at the University of Oxford, had been waning in popularity. For example, most journalists in Canada and the U.S. who follow the AP or CP stylebooks do not use it.
The Canadian Press Stylebook has this to say: “Put commas between elements of a series but not before the final "and, "or" or "nor" unless that avoids confusion. But reactions among the grammar police on Twitterseem to be divided, with strong opinions on both sides. All this over a punctuation mark.