Show 810 Thursday 31 July

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

iSummit
Day 2

This morning we went to another session of the education track. The session was similar to yesterday’s one with small groups reporting back to the big group and stuff written on the board. And a guy from Poland gave us something for free which was cool.

After that we had a delicious cup of tea.

In the afternoon we listened to some Japanese speeches.

Then I decided to contribute to the group artwork that was happening in the foyer.

In the afternoon there were more keynote speeches.
I thought the talk about the literacy project was interesting.

There’s so much talk about the internet being this hugely democratising, beneficial force. And, you know, I for one buy into that. But I think, at the same time, it’s really important to say that if you can’t read, the internet’s a pretty useless tool. And if you think that, as more and more information comes online, and in some cases, online becomes the only point of entry for a lot of information, then it doesn’t matter how many mobile phones you have or how many PCs increase in the world, basically there’s a chance that the digital divide will only increase.
Jessica Powell
Google, Head of Product PR, EMEA

In the evening there was an awards ceremony for a Creative Commons Japan music competition called Onkei. I thought this was one of the highlights of iSummit. The competition was really well done and it was a great example of how Creative Commons licences can be used to encourage sharing and creativity.
This was one of my favourite videos so I’m glad it won something.

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

other music
Artist: Zvukbroda
Song: Cetvrta
From the album Indietronic CC Bit by indietronic.org

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 809 Wednesday 30 July

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iSummit
Day 1

iSummit was held at the Sapporo Convention Center. I was really impressed with the venue.

On the morning of day 1, we went to the Press Conference.

Creative Commons is managing the technical and legal protocol, so that all the content pieces can interoperate. What iSummit and iCommons is, is the explosion of innovation in academia and business and government that is happening right now.
Joi Ito
Creative Commons, CEO

It’s really important for us to have a time where we get together face to face and discuss some of the issues that we’re facing in our countries. And then really to connect on a global level, to start discussing what we can do to collaborate with one another.
Heather Ford
iCommons South Africa, Executive Director

We are extremely happy to host the iCommons Summit 20(0)8, which is the first time ever held in Asia. We count over 35 different countries. We have over 200 more participants from overseas, plus 150 to 200 Japanese local attendees expected this time. So we have almost 500 people attending this conference for four days.
Chikara Inoue
City of Sapporo, Director General

After that we went to the first meeting of the Education track. The first session was introductions and goal setting. We got put into groups and introduced our projects and our problems. The Daily English Show faces many, many challenges, so it wasn’t hard to think of something to say.

At the end the small groups reported back to the big group and stuff was written on the board. I wasn’t quite sure what the point was but I enjoyed listening to everyone talking about their projects.

The idea is that we set up a university-like social networking system where people interested in similar topics come and they learn together and we figure out ways how … for that learning we can give accreditation.
Philipp Schmidt

A new public school in the US in the state of Utah, that’s completely online, grades 9 through 12 - it’s high school. And in the chartering documents for the school we’ve made a commitment to only use open educational resources.
David Wiley
Open High School of Utah

So we’ve developed sort of a tool kit – and I’m not explaining it very well – but it, it walks projects through kind of a circular process of conducting their own internal research and then incorporating that back into their practices.
Cynthia Jimes
ISKME

If you have content and you would like to put it into a platform where it’s accessible to everybody, we offer that.
Joel Thierstein
Connexions

So that’s why we want to educate people about how to use web standards.
Andreas Bovens
Opera Web Standards Curriculum

My company is … focused on learning science to help people learn information faster than they could do it themselves.
Kenneth Young
iKnow

My goal is to convince this committee that it has to be an OER.
Jaroslaw Lipszic
Polish library project (Wolne Lektury)

In the afternoon we went to a session about DIY video which was basically just a screening of a whole lot of remix videos. The introduction was quite interesting. I’d never heard of slashing before.

Slashing basically involves defining boy-boy, ah, male-male romantic relationships between characters. So think Starsky and Hutch, Batman and Robin, Kirk/Spock … so these are videos that are edited in order to make those implicit homosocial and homosexual narratives explicit.
Mimi Ito

After that was a short break and then it was time for the afternoon Keynote speeches.

One result of the fact that you can copy with glee is there’s a very open creative process that goes on in fashion design.
Johanna Blakley
Ready to Share: Fashion and the Commons

Don’t forget there will always be those cannot be convinced - those who won’t share willingly. Help them share. Use the tools we’re developing to enforce the norms of sharing on those who won’t. When you do, you will push the law forward, it will respond, fair use will expand further and become a better and better tool for protecting the creative freedom that brings us all together here today.
Anthony Falzone
Expanind Boundaries of Fair Use
Protetction Under US Copyright Law

Some languages will try to woo rich and intellectual people to switch to them. The tabloid press will follow this very closely. David Beckham would be paid five million dollars for learning to speak Portugese. So very poor people, especially in the global south would subsist on three or fewer words a day. The World Bank would draw a linguistic poverty line of one word of American English a day and report how many people lived beneath it.
Erin McKean (Erin McKean at Wikipedia)
Language as a Commons

In the evening there was a reception hosted by the Mayor of Sapporo.
“Kanpai!”
And after that there was an event organized by Digital Garage.
I was stoked I finally got to see Oki Dub – I’ve been listening to their CDs for a while and I really wanted to see them perform live.

Unfortunately, we were exhausted from summiting all day and had to leave before the end.

I had a great Day 1 … the speeches and sessions were interesting … but the best part was all the interesting people I talked to between the sessions.

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

other music
Artist: Shazz
Song: Magnetic Pasta
From the album Indietronic CC Bit by indietronic.org

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 808 Tuesday 29 July

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

iSummit
Day 0

The opening event of iSummit08 was at 7:30 on Tuesday night so we drove to Sapporo on Tuesday afternoon.

The event was put on by the City of Sapporo and was at the Okurayama Ski Jump.

There was some very cool drumming.
Followed by some delicious free Free Beer.
A few people made speeches.

Then we got to see some ski jumping without snow. It was pretty awesome.

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

other music
artist: Boom Tschak
track: More Chocolate, Please
from the album: Indietronic CCBit by indietronic.org
MySpace

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 807 Monday 28 July

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today’s show is just a short message to say that this week we’re going to be at iSummit in Sapporo. So, from tomorrow we’re going to be making special shows from iSummit.

Then, if you don’t already know, The Daily English Show is having a summer holiday during August. So it’ll be a month before I’m sitting on this yellow couch and talking to you again.

I’m looking forward to seeing you again in September and I hope you have a great August. If it’s summer where you are, I hope you have an excellent summer!

I hope you can survive without The Daily English Show for a month. You can always go back and look at some of the old shows if you miss it.

See you soon, bye!

#806 Yasai Somen

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.


Sunday Kitchen #105 Yasai Somen


green pepper

egg plant

mushrooms

broccoli

abura age

garlic tops

chilli

somen

Show 805 Saturday 26 July

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

D.I.V.O.R.C.E.

By Richard Macwilliam


When my Dad left my Mum
They didn't have a fight.

Not really.

Mum told him to go -
And he went.

Threatened to come back, though,
So she KNIFED him (with her mind).

'You get out!' she screamed,
'It's D.I.V.O.R.C.E!'

Which it was.

That was a year ago,
And they still love me -
Or so they say.

But I don't know.

Does love die just like that ?

Will they stop loving me ?

It's made me look at this world just a little bit sadly.

link
I found this poem here.
http://www.richardmacwilliam.com/shortchildrens.html

Show 804 Friday 25 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today I recommend a song called AEIOU.

It’s by … I think she’s called Moana Maniapoto these days … she used to be Moana Maniapoto-Jackson.

This is her second album, called Rua and when this came out her band was Moana and the Moahunters. But I just checked her site and now I think it’s called Moana and the tribe.

Anyway, this is the only album of hers that I have. I bought it with me when I left New Zealand and I really love it.

And I thought this song was a good song to study because it’s about the importance language learning – which is what The Daily English Show is all about.

In the song, she sings: akona te reo – which means learn the language. And the song’s about being proud of your culture and your language.

Too many tears, for too many years
We've been crying alone
Now's the time to make up your mind
Listen to your own
If you learn about yourself and your history
Know where you come from, you know where you want to go
It's a global thing, happening for a while
Because we choose to learn about ourselves

Note:

I found the above lyrics here and assumed they were from the song.
I have sinced listened to the song again and realized that not all of the lyrics are in the song.
The song AEIOU on Rua is a remix, so these lyrics may be from the original version (on the album Tahi) or from another song, or just part of that article ... I don't know.
I normally check more carefully than this, but edited this show in a hurry and without the internet...

These are the lyrics from Moana's site.

A.E.I.O.U.

Chorus:
Its time to
Aaakona te reo
Aaakona te reo
Educate
AEIOU (x2)

Learn about yourself, your history
Know where you come from
Where you want to be

Chorus

Help you along the way
Till you have the strength alone to say

Chorus

It’s a global thing (4x)
been happening for a while
Because we choose to learn about ourselves

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a high school teacher in the United States won a competition by riding on a roller coaster for 20 hours straight.

Ten people boarded a roller coaster at 6:30 on Monday morning to compete for a top prize of a family cruise, $1,000 spending money and a lifetime pass to the theme park.
Apart from bathroom and meal breaks, contestants stayed on the ride at all times - even to sleep.
Finally at 2.35 on Tuesday morning – 20 hours after the start of the competition, a 40-year-old high school teacher was declared the winner.

And that was Stick News for Friday the 25th of July.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is aroha. Aroha means love.
When you’re writing an email to a friend or member of your whānau you can end with: Aroha nui
As I said on Wednesday, nui means big, so aroha nui literally means: love big.
It’s like writing much love or lots of love in English.

conversations with sarah
#497 Did you actually meet her?

Step 1: Repeat Brad’s lines.
Step 2: Read Brad’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sarah I met Moana Manipoto once.

Brad Really? When?

Sarah Ages ago, it was when I was like … I don’t know about 12.

Brad Did you see her in concert?

Sarah I think it was a free concert outside a shopping center in Manukau, which is in Auckland.

Brad Did you actually meet her?

Sarah Yeah, I remember it so clearly. I wanted her autograph, so I went up to her and I said: “Can I have your autograph?” And she said: “Can I have ten bucks?” She was kidding, of course, but I didn't know what to say, cause I was so shy … so I was just like: “ahhh” and she was like: “oh, I’m kidding” and she gave me her autograph. She was really nice.

links

today’s news

Show 803 Thursday 24 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

The video I recommend today is called: Learn To Count in Māori

I think this is a very simple, but very effective language learning video.

It’s on this channel on YouTube – they have some excellent videos there, so if you’re interested in the Māori language, go and check them out.

If you watch this video a few times, you’ll be able to count in Māori. Which is very useful if you’re going to New Zealand – because as I said there are lot of Māori words in New Zealand English.

And I think if you visit New Zealand if you know some Māori language then, you’ll probably have a richer experience.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, an eight-year-old girl was kicked out of a tennis tournament in New Zealand after officials discovered she was wearing a hidden earpiece to receive instructions from her father.

An eight-year-old girl was playing in her first tennis tournament in New Zealand when officials became suspicious of a heightened degree of questioned calls.
They then discovered an earpiece hidden under her thick headband.
Her father said he was only helping his daughter keep score.

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 24th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is whānau.

Whānau means family or extended family.

This is a Māori word and it’s also very common in New Zealand English.

For example you could say:
I’m going to see the whānau this weekend.

I searched for whānau online to find an example and I found this at the end of a blog post:
Hope this finds all the whānau in good health.



conversations with sarah
#496 Do most people speak Māori?

Step 1: Repeat Takeru’s lines.
Step 2: Read Takeru’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Takeru Is Maori an official language in New Zealand?

Sarah Yes. English and Maori are both official. And New Zealand sign language is an official language too.

Takeru Do most people speak Maori?

Sarah No. But everyone knows all the words that are also used in New Zealand English, like marae or whanau or tangi. And lots of people know basic questions like: kei te pehea koe?

Takeru What does that mean?

Sarah How are you?

Takeru And how do you answer?

Sarah Kei te pai.

links

today’s news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10523225

Show 802 Wednesday 23 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

The other day I was watching a video on the internet and I heard someone say this:
I know there are many here who have been loyal since many, many years.

That since should have been for.

It should have been like this: I know there are many here who have been loyal for many, many years.

So what is the difference between for and since?

They both mean how long something has been happening.

For is used for a total period of time, like:
two minutes, five hours, ten years, many, many years, a long time

And since is used for the start of a period. So, it’s a specific time or day.

For example:
5 o’clock, 2006, Tuesday, the 10th of June

Here are some examples:

I’ve been living in Japan for quite a while.
I’ve been living in Japan since 2001.

I’ve been working since 9 o’ clock this morning.
I’ve been working for ten hours.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, according to a survey reported in the New Zealand Herald, 27 percent of New Zealanders clean their shoes with their kitchen sponge.

A survey of more than 1200 New Zealanders has revealed some filthy habits.
According to the results of the survey 27 percent of New Zealanders clean their shoes with the kitchen sponge.
They then return the sponge to the sink for use on dishes and the bench top.
Furthermore, 22 per cent of people wash pet bowls with the kitchen cloth and 39 per cent mop up spills on the kitchen floor with their sponge or cloth before returning it to its home by the sink.
But not all Kiwis are willing to put up with the filth.
Six per cent of respondents said they’d broken up with a partner because of their kitchen hygiene habits.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday 23rd of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is puku. Puku means stomach in Māori and New Zealand English.
In New Zealand English puku is often used in quite a light hearted way, for example: I think I need to do some more exercise, I’m starting to get a bit of a puku.
One of my favourite books when I was a child was about a boy whose name was Pukunui and he was really fat because he ate too much. But he was really cute and he had a moa for a friend which I thought was pretty cool.
Nui means big, so Pukunui means big stomach.



conversations with sarah
#495 Who is Maui?

Step 1: Repeat Sam’s lines.
Step 2: Read Sam’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sam What other books did you like when you were a kid?

Sarah We also had these books about Māui, which I really enjoyed.

Sam Who is Māui?

Sarah He’s a character in Māori stories. He does lots of amazing things … like tame the sun and fish up New Zealand but he’s also kind of mean sometimes …

Sam What do you mean?

Sarah Well, in this one book we had, he starved his grandfather, or it might have been his grandmother … so he could steal a jawbone.

Sam Why did he want the jawbone?

Sarah Because it was a magic jawbone. I suppose the point was that he was persistent and he didn’t give up on trying to get what he really wanted … but I just remember thinking it was really mean.

links

today’s news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10522983

for and since quiz
http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-m_for-since_quiz.htm

Show 801 Tuesday 22 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re looking at a scene from a movie called Dirty Harry which came out in 1971.
Dirty harry is a crime film which stars Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood plays a character called Harry Callahan, who is a police officer. And the “dirty” part comes from the fact that he doesn’t always play by the rules. For example, he sometimes kills criminals instead of arresting them.

From his debut in Dirty Harry, Callahan became the template for a new kind of movie cop: a borderline vigilante who doesn't hesitate when crossing professional and ethical boundaries in pursuit of his own vision of justice.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a company in Japan has developed a new plasma display that can instantly identify people’s sex or age range (I said “age or sex range” by mistake LOL!) and target them with advertisements.

The new display is being demonstrated at an event in Tokyo.
The company says a camera on top of the display immediately recognizes the age and sex of viewers who are standing in front of it.
If the device finds viewers are predominantly female in their 20s, it will show cute miscellaneous items or a cell phone designed for the demographic.
A spokesperson said “changing advertising products in accordance with the viewer would bring advertising closer to the purchaser.”

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 22nd of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Māori Language Week has been happening in New Zealand since 1975.
And this week, it’s Māori Language Week, so I thought we’d do some Māori words for word of the day. There are a lot of Māori words in New Zealand English – so you have to learn some if you go to New Zealand anyway.
And if you’re interested in learning more about New Zealand culture, then I think learning Māori language is a very good way to do that because the key to understanding culture is through language.
So, today’s word is reo.
Reo means language. And te reo Māori means Māori language.
And Māori language Week is: te wiki o te reo Māori. Literally: the week of the language Māori.
But, in New Zealand, people often use the word reo or te reo to mean: Māori language.
So, people might say in English: I’m learning te reo, which means: I’m learning Māori.
Or: they might say, How’s your reo?, which means: How much Māori language can you speak?, or: How fluent are you in Māori?



conversations with sarah
#494 How can I tell?

* Watch today’s conversation here.

Step 1: Repeat Mr Jaffe’s lines.
Step 2: Read Mr Jaffe’s lines and talk to Harry Callahan.

Harry Callahan Is that Tan Ford still parked across in front of the bank?

Mr Jaffe Tan Ford ... Yeah, Tan Ford

Harry Callahan Engine running?

Mr Jaffe I don't know. How can I tell?

Harry Callahan Exhaust fumes coming out of the tailpipe.

Mr Jaffe Oh, that’s awful. Look at that pollution!

Harry Callahan Yeah. Do me a favor, will you? Call this telephone number.

Mr Jaffe Police department?

Harry Callahan Yeah. Tell them Inspector Callahan thinks there's a 211 in progress at the bank. Be sure to tell them it’s in progress, right?

Mr Jaffe In progress. Yes sir.

links

Today’s news
http://www.japantoday.com/category/technology/view/electronic-display-instantly-identifies-customers-sex-age-range

Show 800 Monday 21 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

1 red paper clip
2 melons
3 obi
4 senbei
the 8 ball
50% acrylic
100% cotton
200 meters
300 gigabytes
800 shows

Thank you for watching.

#799 Rosemary Tofu + Eggplant

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #104 Rosemary Tofu + Eggplant

eggplant
mushrooms
soy sauce
chili
rosemary
water
tofu

Show 798 Saturday 19 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

ANGELS

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Richard Macwilliam

Angel 1 and Angel 2,

Fast asleep in bed -

Tell me little angels,

What's in an angel's head ?

BOO!

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　by Richard Macwilliam

Little star

Shining bright -

Went 'BOO!!'

Gave Moon a fright.

I found these poems here.
http://www.richardmacwilliam.com/shortchildrens.html#angels

Show 797 Friday 18 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.


Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today I recommend a song by Poison which is an American band that was very popular in the late 80s and early 90s.

Their second album was called Open Up and Say...Ahh!, and it came out in 1988 – and it was one of the first cassettes that I ever bought. I think Kylie was the first cassette I bought and that was the second one. Anyway, I listened to that cassette a billion times probably … and it’s very good, in my opinion.

One of the songs off the album is called Every Rose Has Its Thorn. And it’s a love song and this is the story behind the song:

Vocalist Bret Michaels wrote the song in response to a failed love affair with a Los Angeles stripper. Poison had been playing at a cowboy bar called "The Ritz" in Dallas, Texas. After the show, Michaels called the woman at her apartment and heard a man's voice in the background. Heartbroken, Michaels wrote the song with an acoustic guitar in a laundromat.

And now I’m going to read you the start of the song.

We both lie silently still
In the dead of the night
Although we both lie close together
We feel miles apart inside

Was it something I said or something I did
Did my words not come out right
Though I tried not to hurt you
Though I tried

So sad, but so beautiful … go and listen to the song right now if you’ve never heard it before.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a grieving family went to a funeral home to view their family member’s body, only to find the body of a stranger.

A family in Illinois, in the United States went to a funeral home to see the body of their 91-year-old grandmother.
They were shocked to find another woman’s body in the casket.
The family said the stranger was even wearing their grandmother’s dress and her favourite bracelet.
Their grandmother had been mistakenly buried – so she was dug up to be buried again.

And that was Stick News for Friday 18th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is casket.
n. a box in which a dead body is buried or cremated

A casket is the same thing as a coffin.

In the Concise Oxford Dictionary it says that casket is usually American English and coffin is usually British English

In New Zealand I think coffin is more commonly used than casket.



friday joke

Two muffins were sitting in an oven.
One of them says, “Man, it’s hot in here!”
The other muffin replies, “Look, a talking muffin!”



conversations with sarah
#493 What ever happened to Poison?

Step 1: Repeat Kate’s lines.
Step 2: Read Kate’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Kate What ever happened to Poison?

Sarah They’re still together.

Kate Really?

Sarah Yeah. I just checked their website actually and they’re doing a big tour this summer.

Kate What countries are they going to?

Sarah Oh, it’s just the US I think. I want to see them in concert. It’d be cool.

links
today’s news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10522177

Show 796 Thursday 17 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

The video I recommend today is called: School of life.

It’s a short film that I saw on YouTube.

This is what it says in the description next to the video: This will be the most important lesson of your life. Maybe the only important lesson.

Go and watch it and tell me what you think.

There’s some great language in this film, like: innit.

Innit is something people say in England, it’s an informal way of saying: isn’t it.

When one of the students walks into the class late, the teacher says to him, sarcastically, Good of you to join us, Garth.
And he replies: Innit.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a French air hostess will become one of Europe’s first space tourists after fishing a chocolate bar wrapper out of the rubbish.

A 32-year-old flight attendant bought a chocolate bar at her local supermarket.
Reuters reported that she threw the wrapper in the bin, telling her self “it’s only others who win”.
Two hours later, she changed her mind and fished the wrapper out of the bin. She checked the code inside the wrapper and found it was a winning number.
The prize is four days of astronaut training and a flight into space.
She said it was “a dream come true”.

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 17th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is bollocks.

I think bollocks is pretty commonly used in the UK.

It means nonsense. For example: That’s a load of bollocks! Means: That’s not true or That’s stupid.

Bollocks is also an exclamation that people use when they’re disagreeing with someone
or when they’re angry or annoyed about something.

In the film, when the bell rings one of the students says bollocks.



conversations with sarah
#492 Let’s split

Step 1: Repeat Tom’s lines.
Step 2: Read Tom’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sarah Let’s split.

Tom What?

Sarah Come on.

Tom But it might be an important class. We might learn something this time.



links
today’s news
http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSN1641363920080717

Show 795 Wednesday 16 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Do you know the difference between room and a room?

You probably know what a room is right?

a part of a building enclosed by walls, floor, and ceiling

For example: This room gets a lot of sunshine.
It doesn’t actually. None of the rooms in this place get any sunshine.

Another example, an angry parent might say to a child: Go to your room!

But room also means space.

space viewed in terms of its capacity to accommodate content or allow action

Here are some examples:
Is there enough room for me in the car?
There’s room for one more person at the table.

And here’s an example using both meanings:
Do you have room for a desk in your room?



click here

The site I recommend today is called Real English.
It’s a really good site for studying English – so go and check it out if you haven’t already.
They have a lot of videos interviewing people in the street – so it’s great, because they’re not actors, and it’s not scripted, so it’s really natural English.

And they interview people from many different countries which is really good because it means that you get a good variety of accents and dialects.

Another great thing is that the videos are organized really well, so if you’re looking for a particular thing to study or teach, then it’s really easy to find.

One example is lesson 51 which is looking at the difference between have done and did, which is something that a lot of people have difficulty with.
So go and check out their website – and they also have a channel on YouTube.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a Japanese woman who was caught vandalizing a church in Italy flew back to Italy to apologise.

In February, a 19-year-old Japanese woman graffitied a famous church in Italy.
The vandalism was caught on film and was widely reported in the Japanese media.
The 19-year-old fashion student from Gifu University then flew back to Italy to apologize. She also gave the church 600 Euros.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday 16th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is: vandalize.

This word can be spelt -ize or -ise

v.
to damage sth, especially public property, deliberately and for no good reason



conversations with sarah
#491 What did you do yesterday?

Step 1: Repeat Bob’s lines.
Step 2: Read Bob’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Sarah What have you been doing today?

Bob I’ve been following my wife around shopping all morning.

Sarah What did you do yesterday?

Bob I sat around watching TV. I didn’t do very much at all.



note
In today’s news I said the woman’s age twice – this is a mistake. I only needed to say it once.

Show 794 Tuesday 15 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today we’re doing another scene from Scent of a Woman. This is the scene where Charlie and Frank are in a restaurant and there’s a woman sitting at a table by herself and so they go over and talk to her.

And Frank says this: Excuse me, senorita, do you mind if we join you? I'm feeling you're being neglected.

Senorita is a Spanish word – not pronounced like that in Spanish, I’m sure.
It says: a form of address for an unmarried woman, corresponding to miss.

I think he’s using that word because it sounds romantic.
People also use French words like that – like Madame, Monsieur, Mademoiselle.

And she says: Well, I'm expecting somebody.
And he says: Instantly?
And she says: No, but any minute now.

Any minute now is an idiom which means: very soon.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, an American man is in trouble after lying about seeing sharks.

Martha’s Vineyard is an Island in the United States. In 1974, the movie Jaws was filmed on the island.
Recently a 60-year-old man said he saw sharks off the island.
Officials closed the beach but later they found out he was lying.
The man was charged with disorderly conduct.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday the 15th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the Day

Today’s word is neglect.
v. Fail to give proper care or attention to
or: Fail to do something

I found an article online with this title:
Don’t neglect higher education



conversations with sarah
#490 I'm waiting for him.

Step 1: Repeat Donna’s lines.
Step 2: Read Donna’s lines and talk to Frank.

Frank Excuse me, senorita, do you mind if we join you? I'm feelin' you're being neglected.

Donna Well, I'm expecting somebody.

Frank Instantly?

Donna No, but any minute now.

Frank Any minute? Some people live a lifetime in a minute. What are you doin' right now?

Donna I'm waiting for him.

Frank Would you mind if we waited with you. You know, just to keep the womanizers from bothering you?

Donna No, I don't mind.

Frank Thank you.

links
today’s news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10521207

Show 793 Monday 14 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

I have some news today. The Daily English Show is taking a summer holiday. In 2006 we took the month of August off and we’re going to do the same thing this year.
I’m looking forward to having a break. I love working, but I think it’s good to have a break sometimes from working and from studying too.

If you miss The Daily English Show, you can always go back and watch some of the old shows.

I’m actually going to be away from the internet for most of August – not because I’m going to a remote tropical island or anything exciting like that. But anyway, I’ll tell you about what I did in September.

And at the end of August, I’m going to catch up on some emails. Because I have had so many nice emails from people that I just haven’t had the chance to reply to, which is terrible, so I want to try and do that.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, new technology being introduced in New Zealand prisons is expected to reduce crime both inside and outside the prisons.

From February next year, new technology will be introduced to New Zealand prisons which will mean cellphones will not work in prisons.
The New Zealand Herald reported that at the moment, it is impossible to stop prisoners using cellphones, as inmates are skilled at hiding them.
A prison spokesperson says the new technology will prevent a lot of crime on the inside and on the outside, as prisoners will not be able to use their phones to organize drug drops or plan escapes.

And that was Stick News for Monday the 14th of July.
Kia Ora.



Word of the day

Today’s word is: abduct, which means to: take (someone) away illegally by force or deception.

Kidnap is similar – except it is usually to get money.
Kidnap: abduct and hold captive, typically to obtain a ransom.



conversations with sarah
#489 What are you reading?

Step 1: Repeat John’s lines.
Step 2: Read John’s lines and talk to Sarah.

John What are you reading?

Sarah Oh, it’s called Megumi. One of my students lent it to me, they were giving them away for free at the g8 summit.

John What’s it about?

Sarah It’s about a girl who was abducted by North Korean spies.

John Is it a true story?

Sarah Yeah. Quite a few people from Japan were abducted by North Korea.

John When?

Sarah Megumi was abducted in 1977. So, around that time I think.

John How do they know it was North Korea?

Sarah Ah, because they admitted it. And they let some of them come back.

John Did Megumi come back?

Sarah No. They said she’s dead.

John So she’s dead?

Sarah Maybe. But maybe not because they could be lying.

John How sad.

Sarah Yeah, it’s so sad. The parents didn’t know what happened to her. She just disappeared one day. And then twenty years later they found out that she’d been abducted by North Korea.



links
today’s news
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10521188

#792 Tofu Peppers

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen #103 Tofu Peppers

Capsicum
Tofu
Olive oil

Fry the tofu and capsicum in the olive oil.
Put the capsicum on a plate.
Put the tofu on the capsicum.

Then finally, put sweet miso on top.

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

other music
artist: Improject
album: Beta Release
track: Mambo
from: Barcelona, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 791 Saturday 12 July

Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

1. clock
2. Christmas card
3. cap
4. cake
5. a cup of coffee
6. car
7. cat
8. clothes
9. chairs
10. clouds and corn

by Kables

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

other music
artist: JCL
album: Journeys Thru Samsara
track: A Slow Walk
from: Watford, United Kingdom
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 790 Friday 11 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today I’m going to talk about a song by an American singer and songwriter called Suzanne Vega. (I think that’s how you say it ...)

The song is called Tom’s Diner and it was written in 1981 – but apparently it didn’t actually become popular until it was remixed in 1990.

I think it’s a great one to study because it’s cool song and it’s also a story with some useful language that you can pick up.

It’s also brilliant for beginners, because a lot of the song is in the present simple and the present continuous.

I’ll read you the start of the song:

I am sitting

In the morning

At the diner

On the corner

I am waiting

At the counter

For the man

To pour the coffee

And he fills it

Only halfway

And before

I even argue

He is looking

Out the window

At somebody

Coming in

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a woman in the UK is suing six newspapers after they ran stories based on her daughter's exaggerated claims about a party.

A 15-year-old English girl had a party at her parent’s holiday house in Spain.
She wrote about the party on her Bebo page, embellishing the story to make the party sound a lot wilder than it was.
Newspapers then picked up the story and now her mother is suing the newspapers.
The Independent said newspaper reports made the party sound like a riot of sex and wanton damage fuelled by under-age drinking that only ended when the police arrived.
In actual fact, the mother says, no alcohol was served or permitted; none of the guests took part in sexual acts; the police were not called; and only minor damage was caused to one of the doors.
Her lawyer said the case raised important issues of libel, privacy and copyright in relation to the unauthorized use of material taken from social networking sites.

And that was Stick News for Friday 11th of July.
Kia Ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is pretend.

This is a line from Tom’s Diner:

I'm pretending
Not to see them

pretend
v.
act so as to make it appear that something is the case when in fact it is not

I did a search for pretend and I found a blog post called: Four Ways To Pretend You’re Working

This was one of the suggestions: hunch over your keyboard, look intently at the screen, and put on a few facial expressions like worry and stress.

friday joke

What do you get if you cross an elephant and a rhino?

elephino

conversations with sarah
#488 What’s a diner?

Step 1: Repeat Michiru’s lines.
Step 2: Read Michiru’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Michiru What’s a diner?

Sarah Good question. I don’t really know. It’s an American word. I think it’s just another word for a restaurant. Hang on, I’ll look it up.
Diner, noun, especially AmE: a small, usually cheap restaurant

Michiru What do you call cheap restaurants in New Zealand?

Sarah Um. Well, when I grew up, in most small towns in New Zealand there were tearooms, fish and chip shops and Chinese takeaways.

Michiru How about now?

Sarah Now I think there are a lot of cafes.

Michiru What’s the difference between a café and a restaurant?

Sarah Well, I think it depends on the country, but in New Zealand a restaurant is usually ... more expensive and you can usually only go there if you’re having a meal – you can’t just go for a drink. But a café, you can go there just to have a drink, like a coffee, or you can have a meal as well. And it’s usually cheaper and more casual.

Michiru What are tearooms?

Sarah Well, my image of a tearoom in New Zealand, is like ... like, a really old fashioned café. Like, you can just buy a drink or you can also have a meal as well. But the food’s probably pretty bad, and they probably have drip coffee and lace tablecloths and fake flowers. They might not be like that, but that’s my image.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

Tom's Diner - original a cappella version (with explanation in the beginning)
Tom's Diner
Tom's Diner lyrics

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

friday joke start
artist: AdHoc
album: Toutes directions
track: Sumbala
from: Annecy, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Briareus
album: Occidental
track: Beirut Love Songs
from: Michigan, United States
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Improject
album: Beta Release
track: Mambo
from: Barcelona, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

video

cws start
by: Hiro.Y
CC 2.1

end
by: Shiji Kawamura
CC 2.1

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.

Show 789 Thursday 10 July

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today I recommend two videos from an Australian TV show about advertising.

This is what it says on the show’s website:
Each week two of the advertising industry's finest agencies are pitted against each other and tasked with selling the unsellable.

So, these two ads were made by advertising companies and they’re trying to sell the idea of invading New Zealand. And I think they’re really well done.

The video that won is a take off of the 100% Pure New Zealand advertising campaign that was made by the New Zealand government.

And the script from the other video goes like this:

Australia loves a day off, ANZAC day, Labour Day, the Queen’s Birthday, we love ‘em all. But there aren’t many public holidays in the back half of the year. So, this Saturday, we’re going to war, with New Zealand. It’ll be over by lunch time. And to celebrate the whole country gets Monday off.
And then every year, we can crack a beer to mark the day we smashed the Kiwis, as usual. The New Zealand invasion, there’s a day off in it for ya.

STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today, a drunk managed to infiltrate a team of firefighters in Germany.

Reuters reported an extremely drunk 38-year-old man heard a fire alarm and rushed to the fire station. He was helped into protective clothing and helmet by unsuspecting firefighters and boarded the fire engine.
But when they arrived at the fire, the firefighters quickly realized the man was an imposter and called the police.
When police questioned the man, he said: "When a fire breaks out, it's all hands on deck!"

And that was Stick News for Thursday the 10th of July.
Kia Ora.

Word of the day

Today’s word is smash, which means: completely defeat or destroy.

And then every year, we can crack a beer to mark the day we smashed the Kiwis, as usual.

The reason why they say as usual in this sentence is because they’re trying to say that Australia usually beats or smashes New Zealand in sport.

conversations with sarah
#487 Why would it never happen?

Step 1: Repeat Jun’s lines.
Step 2: Read Jun’s lines and talk to Sarah.

Jun I think it’s strange that they would joke about war.

Sarah I guess it’s only funny because it could never actually happen. But it wouldn’t be funny in other countries where war is actually likely.

Jun Why would it never happen?

Sarah Because the head of New Zealand and Australia is the same – the Queen of England.

Jun The Queen of England controls New Zealand?

Sarah She doesn’t really control it, but she’s the head of state.

Jun What does head of state mean?

Sarah The head of state means the leader or the top person. And sometimes they actually have power, like the president of the United States, and sometimes they don’t really, like the Emperor of Japan.

Jun Do New Zealand and Australia have a good relationship?

Sarah Yeah, very good. Just a friendly rivalry, that’s about it.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: BrunoXe
album: aprendiendo desde 2004
track: Mandrake
from: Jerez, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

WOD start
artist: DJ iPep's
album: Home Mix 2007
track: Game Toy
from: EVREUX, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: Briareus
album: Occidental
track: Beirut Love Songs
from: Michigan, United States
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
MySpace

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: Improject
album: Beta Release
track: Mambo
from: Barcelona, Spain
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

video

cws start
by: Hiro.Y
CC 2.1

end
by: Shiji Kawamura
CC 2.1

Did you notice a mistake in this script? Please leave us a comment and tell us! We really appreciate people pointing out our mistakes.Thank you.

Have you translated this script - or part of it - into your language for English practice and published it on your blog? Please leave a comment and a link so other people can read your translation. Thank you.