Show 879 Friday 7 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.
Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.
When I was listening to McCain’s concession speech, his delivery reminded me of a song called: The Sunscreen Song. Actually that’s not its official title, it’s officially called: Everybody’s free (to wear sunscreen).
The lyrics of the song were from a newspaper column which was published in 1997 in a Chicago newspaper. And then a film director decided he wanted to make a song with the column and he hired a voice actor to read it. The song first came out on an album in 1998 and then it was released as a single in 1999. I was working in commercial radio at the time and we played it all the time – which I enjoyed because it’s a great song. And it’s a great song to study too. It’s basically just a list of very good advice spoken over music.
Some of the advice is very short, like:
Floss. Stretch.
And some of it’s longer, like this:
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
That is so true. Very good advice.
Word of the Day
Today’s word is: inalienable. This is a formal word and I don’t think you really need to learn it or use it. But it’s one of those words that you can kind of guess what it means by looking at his parts.
In means not.
Alien means foreign or unfamiliar.
So you could guess that it means something like: not able to be unfamiliar. And that’s pretty much what it means. It means something that is not able to be taken away from you.
This is from the song:
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
friday joke
Where are you from?
The States.
Which part?
All of me.
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora in Stick News today a stick has been inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in the United States of America.
The National Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1998. The first inductees were announced the following year. So far more than forty toys have been added. This year’s inductees were: the skateboard, the baby doll and the stick. The museum’s curator praised the stick for its all-purpose, no-cost, recreational qualities. He said it’s very open-ended, all-natural, the perfect price and there aren't any rules or instructions for its use.
And that was Stick News for Friday the 7th of November.
Kia Ora.
conversations with sarah
#547 He’s not a god!
Step 1: Repeat Jake’s lines.
Step 2: Read Jake’s lines and talk to Sarah.
Jake So how has your image of the US changed?
Sarah Well America leads the world in many ways, like technology or entertainment, but I never thought of America as political leaders before.
Jake But they have such a lot of power.
Sarah Yeah, weapons and people willing to die … but I just thought America was a world bully not a leader – like Bush invading Iraq and then trying to bully the world into helping.
Jake And now they’re leaders?
Sarah Yeah. The whole world has been inspired by Obama’s victory.
Jake So everyone will follow the US now?
Sarah No, not everyone, in all respects, but yeah, in some ways.
Jake I don’t know …
Sarah I mean, they already are. Like on New Zealand’s national radio they other day they got an expert on and the question was something like: American’s election was so great, what we learn from it? And he was like, well, many things, their leader’s debates for a start. The NZ leader’s debates were a shambles …
Jake Were they?
Sarah Yeah, I tried watching the first one, but it was a mess. They were talking all over each other and the moderator was just standing there doing nothing about it. It was so embarrassing I could only watch it for a few seconds.
Jake I read a column in a newspaper saying it was cool to be American again.
Sarah Yeah, I think that’s true. I mean people used to look at Bush think, “Oh my god, he’s such a moron, how could people vote for him, and least our leader is kind of intelligent and can string a few sentences together”. But now people are looking at Obama and going, “Wow, why can’t our leader be as inspiring and eloquent and intelligent and charming as him”.
Jake Calm down! He’s not a god!
Sarah I know. But I think he’s awesome and it’s great that he won so why can’t we celebrate for a while.
Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen
written by Mary Schmich
song by Baz Luhrmann - watch video
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
links
today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures
music
show start
artist: Boom Tschak
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: More Chocolate, Please
from: Former Yugoslavia
MySpace
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: Wolfgang S.
album: Indietronic CCBit.
track: Dynamite
from: Belgrade, Serbia, Former Yugoslavia
artist site
MySpace
qa start
artist: ioeo
album: triptracks
track: triptrack2
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
qa bgm
artist: Zeropage
album: Ambient Pills Update
track: Ambient Dance
from: Switzerland
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
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