Show 145 Monday 25 September

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Intro

Hi, I’m Sarah. This is the The Daily English Show. And today’s word is satire.
I read a story today on CNN about South Park – about how the show has been going for 10 years.
I’m pretty sure most people in Japan haven’t heard of South Park. You can see it on pay TV with Japanese subtitles– but I’m not sure how funny it is translated.

So, I like South Park even though I’ve only seen a handful of episodes in the 10 years it’s been on. Because I’m not much of a TV watcher, and I don’t have cable or satellite.

And it’s something I would recommend to English students. Although it’s not easy – not just because of the language, but also because of all the cultural references. So it’s definitely not for beginners.

South Pak is an animation series. The main characters are four young boys:
Kyle, Kenny, Cartman and Stan.
But Kenny doesn’t actually speak properly ... he just mumbles. And he dies in every episode – and when he dies someone says “oh my god, they killed Kenny”.

Anyway... back to the CNN article ... it says: Virtually everything and everyone in politics, pop culture and religion have been fair game for Parker and Stone's sharp satire.

So, what does satire mean?
My dictionary says: The use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices.
A person who writes or uses satire is called a satirist.

There’s a list of notable satires and satirists in Wikipedia and it lists some of my favourite books and movies:
George Orwell Animal Farm,
Stanley Kubrick - Dr. Strangelove
Tom Wolfe - The Bonfire of the Vanities
Good book!

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora. In Stick News today there are more TV sets than people in the average American home.

The origins of television date back to 1873 when a British electrical engineer made a discovery.
They became popular in American homes in the mid-1950s and now they’ve outnumbered people. In the average home there are 2.55 people and 2.73 TV sets.
A set is turned on for more than eight hours a day in the average home. But people aren’t always watching it – the average person watches TV for four and a half hours a day.

And that was Stick News for Monday the 25th of September.
Kia Ora.

conversations with sarah
# 95 Did you have a good weekend?

Takahiro asks Sarah about her weekend.
Step 1: Repeat Takahiro’s lines.
Step 2: Read Takahiro’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.

Takahiro Did you have a good weekend?

Sarah Yeah, it was good. Some friends came to visit.

Takahiro What did you do?

Sarah Ah, we did a bit of sightseeing and … what else did we do? We played some pool.

Takahiro Do you play pool often?

Sarah No, not really. I did when I was in New Zealand though. How about you? Do you like pool?

Takahiro I’ve never played it.

Sarah Oh really? We should go to a pool bar some time. It’s fun.

Notes

Music on the show used with permission from magnatune.com and jamendo.com
Music
Artist: NeXuS
Album: Trance Planet
Track: Night flyer
site
music at jamendo

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