dweeb (dwb)
n. Slang
A person regarded as socially inept or foolish, often on account of being overly studious.

Pretty Fly

Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
And all the girlies say I'm pretty fly
For a white guy.
Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis.

You know it's kind of hard
Just to get along today.
Our subject isn't cool,
But he fakes it anyway.
He may not have a clue;
And he may not have style.
But everything he lacks
Well he makes up in denial.

So don't debate, a player straight
You know he really doesn't get it anyway.
He's gonna play the field, and keep it real.
For you no way, for you no way.
So if you don't rate, just overcompensate.
At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake.
The world needs wannabe's.
So (Hey! Hey!) do that brand new thing.

Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
And all the girlies say I'm pretty fly
For a white guy.

He needs some cool tunes
Not just any will suffice.
But they didn't have Ice Cube
So he bought Vanilla Ice.
Now cruising in his Pinto,
He sees homies as he pass.
But if he looks twice
They're gonna kick his lily ass.

So don't debate, a player straight
You know he really doesn't get it anyway.
He's gonna play the field, and keep it real.
For you no way, for you no way.
So if you don't rate, just overcompensate.
At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake.
The world loves wannabe's.
So (Hey! Hey!) do that brand new thing

Now he's getting a tattoo.
Yeah he's gettin' ink done.
He asked for a '13',
But they drew a '31'.
Friends say he's trying too hard
And he's not quite hip.
But in his own mind
He's the, he's the dopest trip.

Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Give it to me baby. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, cinco, seis.

So don't debate, a player straight
You know he really doesn't get it anyway.
He's gonna play the field, and keep it real.
For you no way, for you no way.
So if you don't rate, just overcompensate.
At least you'll know you can always go on Ricki Lake.
The world needs wannabe's.
Oh the world loves wannabe's.
So let's get some more wannabe's.
And (Hey! Hey!) do that brand new thing.

Pretty Fly - Offspring

Noun 1.
wannabee - an ambitious and aspiring young person; "a lofty aspirant"; "two executive hopefuls joined the firm"; "the audience was full of Madonna wannabes"
aspirant, aspirer, hopeful, wannabe
applicant, applier - a person who requests or seeks something such as assistance or employment or admission

IF...

If

Pink Floyd

If I were a swan, I'd be gone
If I were a train, I'd be late
And if I were a good man,
I'd talk with you more often than I do
If I were to sleep, I could dream
If I were afraid, I could hide
If I go insane, please don't put
Your wires in my brain
If I were the moon, I'd be cool
If I were a rule, I would bend
If I were a good man, I'd understand
The spaces between friends
If I were alone, I would cry
And if I were with you, I'd be home and dry
And if I go insane,
Will you still let me join in the game?
If I were a swan, I'd be gone
If I were a train, I'd be late again
If I were a good man,
I'd talk with you more often than I do

10 things teens should do while they´re young

Here is THE LIST for things all teens should do or at least TRY to do while you’re still young. Many people always dream about their past and how they wished that they did something while they still had the chance. And let’s just face it, once you settle down a few years after college, you’re not likely to even THINK of fulfilling your dreams of the past because you have too much responsibilities and work from your job and et cetera. So, before you reach….let’s say, the age of 25, you should finish this list. Most of these aren’t “climb Mount Everest” hard, but if you finish it, you won’t ever have to worry about looking back on your life with regret.

1. Get a job as early as you can. Whether it’s picking up groceries for your elderly neighbor, even if it’s non-paying, job experience is job experience. So when you want to apply for a nice paying job that you really want, you will already have job experience and references, who might even help you by telling your potential boss how hard you worked even though you weren’t getting paid. This will show that you have good work ethics and are a great worker.

2. Start a “you” fund. By the age of 16, some banks allow you to open your own checking/savings account, like Bank of America. Every time you get a paycheck, put ___% in the account (no matter what). I know it would be really great to get that cute summer tote that is also on sale, but you could always save up whatever percentage of your paycheck that you DON’T put in your account. And it’s not like you don’t have a lot of bags already. Teens contribute the most in this world’s economy; it’s better to be thrifty and save the extra few bucks for something that you would REALLY need in the future. Trust me, even a few dollars a day can accumulate to be a lot of money. Just never sway from the percentage of your paycheck you set to input in the bank. Your “you” fund could help you out in your college years when you really need the money for books, food, and rent.

3. Travel to the place you always wanted to go to with close friends. Since you could travel alone as soon as you’re 18, the summer right after you graduate High School is the perfect time to do just that. Way before graduation, set a money schedule to save up. This way you don’t have to ask your parents to pay for your or your friends’ tickets. You would be able to pay for your ticket and a few souvenirs from your little vacation. Just remember, it’s okay to take a little money from your “you” fund but never splurge on things you won’t need. Sure that bracelet from the hotel’s shop would be a nice memento but then you wouldn’t need that seashell, that new bathing suit, that…well, you got the picture.

4. Write a memoir/make a film diary. Your high school, college and early career years will be hardest and most stressful time you could have (without a family, of course). You may not always have someone to listen to you, so you can vent on your camera or notebook. In the future, you might choose to look back on your past hardships. You never know; your past you might have advice for the current you! Not to mention, I find that my past experiences inspire story ideas. Memoirs are one of the best books on the market today. Some memories could seem so ridiculously funny or heartbreakingly poignant, that it’s fictional, but it’s not. So save some of your journal entries. You never know if you could make money off of them later.

5. Talk to a stranger. Now I don’t mean you should talk to some random dude off the street that you’ve never seen before; that’s a safety hazard. No, I mean, someone you see practically everyday on the bus or in class that you hardly talk to. Asking said people for advice I find is really helpful. They don’t judge you on your past mistakes (because they don’t KNOW them) and they will be honest with you (because they have no reason NOT to). Most people normally only keep within their own cliques; doing so could make you miss out some great friendships. So, that kid sitting in the corner who hardly talks in class? Why not say hi? You never know if they could become a good friend.

6. Go skydiving or something else that you always wanted to do. Write a book, run a marathon! Do it while you’re still young, healthy, and unattached to some big time job. It’s a perfect thing to do during or right after college. Most of these things aren’t that expensive, so it shouldn’t really put a dent on your “you” fund.

7. BUDGET YOURSELF. It’s always easier to form good financial habits when you’re young.

8. Find your dream job and GET IT. Always strive for your dreams. There’s no use for you getting a six figure paycheck if you’re bored out your wits everyday of the week. I find the best jobs are those that doesn’t feel like work. What’s the point of getting a lot of money if you don’t enjoy what you do?

9. Get a dog or cat or fish or…..pet rock. Pets can help teach you responsibility, especially when you’re the only one caring for it. They can also be the ones that encourage you to exercise, considering some of them need to be walked.

Here is a personal saying that I adapted from the original saying: Live life like it’s your last day on earth, but make smart choices, in case it isn’t.

Reading and Speaking

Energy: Repowering the Planet

Our planet is threatened by humanity's bond with fossil fuels. This special issue explores the energy challenges ahead.

Space: The Once and Future Frontier

Travel the solar system, follow the development of space exploration, and hear about the photographs in the special issue.

Mysteries of the Maya

Follow the rise, glory, and collapse of the ancient and mysterious Maya civilization.

Changing Climate

Learn about the signs and science of climate change. Calculate your carbon load and test your knowledge of electronic waste in this special issue.

The Best WIldlife Vol. 13

See lionesses in Botswana and birds with the longest wingspan in the world. Find these and more in this special edition.

Guide to Digital Photography

Let the photographers at National Geographic show you how to take great pictures. Order this special issue today.

Exploration Vol. 10

Who's your favorite explorer? Share your thoughts in our forum, then e-greet a friend with a postcard.

Pictures of the Year Vol. 9

Decorate your desktop with a selection of the best pictures from 2004.

100 Best Vintage Vol. 8

Tour our archive of vintage images. Then learn how photographer Robb Kendrick is reviving the tintype method of making pictures.

Exploring Space Vol. 7

Test your space smarts by playing our trivia game.

100 Best Unpublished Vol. 6

Tune into a myriad of multimedia presentations featuring images and interviews ranging from a one-day foot race up three mountains to "India's Untouchables."

Treasures of Egypt Vol. 5

Write a message in hieroglyphics and send it to a friend as an ancient Egyptian e-greeting.

Swimsuits: 100 Years Vol. 4

Sneak a peak at our gallery of online-exclusive images of swimsuits through the decades.

100 Best Wildlife Vol. 3

Get the scoop on how photographers capture those amazing wildlife moments.

Best of America Vol. 2

Decorate your desktop with a scenic slice of American life.

100 Best Pictures Vol. 1

Get the story behind the eyes that riveted the world from photographer Steve McCurry

Online Extras

Improving Your English

Tip 6 Use Only Real English Materials

Download the MP3 Audio for Rule 6

Dear Friend,

• Are you a good English reader, but not a GREAT English speaker?
• Do you feel that textbook English is not teaching you the REAL English you need?
• Is it difficult for you to understand native speakers’ conversations?
• Have you already improved your English, and are you ready to go to a whole new level?

Have you noticed that native speakers rarely use the formal English you learned in school? Why not? Because you learned formal English in school, but most native speakers use casual Conversational English when they speak to each other.

“I followed your advice. I used the lessons exactly as you said. I downloaded the lessons and listened to them everyday. I used your schedule. Now I can really speak English! I’m so excited. Thanks for helping me finally speak English!”
Mercedes Pintado

Meet Your New Teachers

Hi! Learn Real English was started by A.J. Hoge, Kristin Dodds, and Joe Weiss to help you speak to, and understand, native speakers.

Several years ago, we noticed a problem. Many English students came to America and had very painful experiences. These students knew a lot of grammar. They knew a lot of vocabulary. Some could even speak and understand FORMAL English quite well. They arrived in America feeling very confident.

Then they went on the street… and they were shocked! They could not understand what people said. Every week, a new student came to us and said, “I can understand CNN and the BBC, but I can’t understand what real people are saying at business meetings, at the bus stop, in the store, or at parties.” These students were always quite worried and upset.

We became worried too. So we began to look at the problem. We knew we needed to find the cause of this problem– and then solve it.

After many months of searching, we found the cause and the answer. The cause was simple– real English speakers use a lot of idioms and slang. Real people do not speak like TV announcers. They do not speak like actors. Real people use “street English” and that kind of English is filled with casual idioms, slang, and pronunciation.

Once we discovered the cause of the problem, we worked hard to create a solution… and finally we did! We decided to record REAL conversations between native speakers. No actors. No announcers. No reading. Just real people having real, spontaneous, totally natural conversations.

After recording these conversations, we created text for all of them– because we knew that if you could read the text, you would understand the conversations more easily.

Then we identified all of the difficult idioms, slang, and other special parts of casual, real English conversations. We created vocabulary lessons to help you understand ALL of these phrases– because most of them CANNOT BE FOUND IN A DICTIONARY!

If you could, what would you have done differently?

What´s Your Learning Style?

How Does Learning English Affect The Way You See Things?

Learning Styles

It is commonly believed that most people favor some particular method of interacting with, taking in, and processing stimuli or information. Based on this concept, the idea of individualized "learning styles" originated in the 1970s, and has gained popularity in recent years. A learning style is the method of learning particular to an individual that is presumed to allow that individual to learn best. It has been proposed that teachers should assess the learning styles of their students and adapt their classroom methods to best fit each student's learning style.
Models and theoriesOver 80 learning style models have been proposed, each consisting of at least two different styles.
Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic (VAK and VARK)
Main article: Representational systems (NLP)One family of models emphasizes the sensory modalities of informing stimuli. The models in this family may use different terms to describe same or similar learning styles. These models often describe three basic learning styles: [1]
Auditory learning occurs through hearing the spoken word.
Kinesthetic learning occurs through doing, touching and interacting.
Visual learning occurs through images, demonstrations and body language. In such models, the term multi-modal describes people who have more than one strong learning style.
Other modelsAiming to explain why aptitude tests, school grades, and classroom performance often fail to identify real ability, Robert J. Sternberg listed various cognitive dimensions in his book Thinking Styles (1997). Several other models are also often used when researching learning styles. This includes the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Model and the DISC assessment.

Do You Believe It?

Teens: Who Are the Cool People?

by Vanessa Van Petten

You know those people? Those people who, like, came out of the womb wearing perfectly fit stone washed jeans, ruggedly hot converse and a confident swagger (or crawl I guess). Ew, cool people. Recently, I have been faced with the fact that I have never been one of those people.

I never started trends, I always coveted the cool girl group at lunch, I giggle like a hyena when I talk to a hot guy and I never rushed for the hot sororities in college. The sad truth is, even though I never was cool, I always wanted to be.

I wish I could say that I always embraced the fact that I like reading tech blogs for fun, write teen fiction on my free time and hate wearing heels (don’t cool girls always wear heels…like even to class and to the supermarket?). But, no, I didn’t always love the fact that I am weird and recently I have been faced with so many kids who are desperate to be ‘cool.’

I proposed this question to my group of teen trendsetters. I found some of them shocking, some of them honest, some of them encouraging and some of them depressing. Here are their answers:

What makes someone “cool”?

1) Cool people are always in a group.

2) Cool people are always laughing (at you, with you, with their group…)

3) Cool girls wear heels.

4) Cool boys wear hair in their eyes.

5) Cool people walk with confidence.

6) Cool People are mean.

7) Cool people love themselves no matter what.

8) Cool people are the people everyone secretly hates, but are nice to on the surface.

9) If you think you are cool, you are not.

10) Cool people...

Have You Ever Invented Anything in Your Life?

FREEGANISM

Freeganism is an anticonsumerism lifestyle where people employ alternative strategies for living based on "limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."[1] The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters that have passed their expiration date, but are still edible. They salvage the food not because they are poor or homeless, but as a political statement.[2][3]