Show 62 Saturday 3 June

Watch today's show at grouper or YouTube.


Perci the Persimmon is a book I made in 2003. The idea was to combine education and art. To learn basic conversation questions and answers by reading a book with interesting photos. The layout of the book is designed so that the question and photo are on one page, then the answer is on the next page.
The idea is to look at the picture and guess what the answer is. Then turn the page and check the answer.

I think asking someone questions about what they have done and answering questions about what you have done, are both very useful tools for making conversation.

Talking about ideas and concepts is interesting - but it's also more difficult. So I think practicing talking about past events is a great place to start.

I printed the book myself and took it to a design show in Tokyo and sold a few copies. I also used it in lessons. But it has never actually been published properly.

The music is by Thursday Group, from the United States.
It is track 1 from First Album.
It is available at magnatune.com
You can listen to it or buy it here.

Show 61 Friday 2 June

Watch today's show at grouper or YouTube.


STICK NEWS

Kia Ora. This is Stick News.
New Zealand is a small country in the South Pacific. It is nuclear-free and not even George Bush would claim there are weapons of mass destruction.
However that doesn’t mean there are no weapons. And in one of the biggest stories in New Zealand this week, a man was hit in the head with a handbag.

There was an important rugby game in New Zealand last week, the Super 14 final. Afterwards, everyone had a few drinks.
Many people drank all night and between 6:30am and 8am there was an incident involving two rugby players.
For some reason one player punched a fellow customer in the bar.
The other player wasn’t happy about this – so he picked up a woman’s handbag and started wacking his teammate with it.
The player started crying. The woman’s phone was broken.
The rugby police decided to fine player the player who started the scrap $3000. The handbag hitter wasn’t punished, because he was “defusing the situation”.
The woman received an apology and a new cellphone. She is now selling her handbag and broken cellphone on the internet.

The online auction for the handbag finishes tomorrow. Today the bids have already passed $5000. And that was Stick News for Friday the 2nd of June.
Kia Ora.

conversations with sarah
# 40 Why do you like him so much?

Larry King interviews Elizabeth Taylor.
Step 1: Repeat Larry’s lines.
Step 2: Read Larry’s lines on the screen and talk to Sarah.

Larry 　　Why do you like him so much?

Elizabeth We’re very much alike.

Larry 　　Are you?

Elizabeth Yes.

Larry 　　We both had horrible childhoods. Ah, well, working at the age of 9 is not a childhood. He started at 3, and ah, that certainly isn’t a childhood.

Elizabeth Have you spoken to him recently?

Larry 　　Yes, I have.

Elizabeth How’s he doing? He’s in ... where ...

Larry 　　He sounds very happy.

Elizabeth Where is he?

Larry 　　At the moment I think he’s in London.

Elizabeth But he was in Tokyo recently, and then London.

Larry 　　Yeah.

Elizabeth And, but he lives in Bahrain?

Larry 　　Right.

Notes:

Larry King is an American broadcaster.
He hosts a nightly interview program called Larry King Live.

Elizabeth Taylor is an American actress.

See the Larry King, Elizabeth Taylor interview here.

Music by Thursday Group available at magnatune.com