#1111 Shortland Street, Goodness Gracious Me, Canadian Politicans On Twitter

Show 1111 Thursday 19 November

Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Since I’ve been back in New Zealand I have started watching a TV program called Shortland Street with my boyfriend, knf, who is from Japan, so he’s studying English. And if you come to New Zealand and you’re studying English I highly recommend watching Shortland Street. If you can already speak English, then you possibly have better things to do with your time, but for English study, it’s brilliant.

Shortland Street is a soap opera or soap which is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio.

Shortland Street is on five nights a week from 7pm on Channel 2 . And it’s brilliant for studying because it’s ongoing which means you can get addicted to it, so it'll be fun to watch, and because they show people talking to each other in a variety of everyday situations – so there is a lot of useful language that you can pick up.

There are similar programs in other countries too, like Neighbours in Australia and Coronation Street in the UK.

Any soap like that, if you watch it regularly and get addicted to it, then I think will be good for your study.

It’s also funny watching people’s horrified reaction when you say you like watching Shortland Street … it’s kind of like telling someone your favourite food is MacDonalds. (spell?)

The dialogue from today's conversations is from a video of two actors from Shortland Street answering viewers' questions. And I think one of the actors is still on the show and the other one has left.

STICK NEWS

Kia ora, in Stick News today a Canadian politician has apologized for insulting another politician on Twitter.

Michelle Simson is a Canadian politician. On Tuesday, during a meeting, she wrote a message on Twitter about another politician who was at the same meeting.

She wrote: "Del Mastro should grow up (not out)".

Del Mastro found out about the tweet and asked her to apoligise. He said her tweet “spoke to arrogance and elitism”.

And that was Stick News for Thursday 19th November.

Kia ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is gracious.

Gracious is an adjective which means courteous, kind and pleasant.

It’s also an exclamation which is a polite way of expressing surprise.

And a longer version of that is: goodness gracious me.

Goodness gracious me can be used to express surprise – and also other emotions too.

Wictionary says it’s an expression of surprise, contempt, outrage, disgust, boredom, frustration.

In the video someone asks the actor: What do you think of your character’s storyline at the moment? What would you do if it happened in real life?

And he says: Goodness, gracious me, if it happened to me in real life, I’d have a meltdown.

I’m not sure what the storyline was, but it sounds like it was something about a baby, something very dramatic no doubt.

* from 2:23

conversations with sarah

#704 Bags not!

Step 1: Repeat Tim’s lines.

Step 2: Read Tim’s lines and talk to Adam.

Adam Tim, what do you think of your character’s storyline at the moment? What would you do if it happened in real life?

Tim Goodness, gracious, me, if it happened to me in real life, I’d have a meltdown.

Adam You’d say, “It’s Adams!”

Tim Totally. Not mine! Bags not!

links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

Dean Del Mastro on Twitter

Michelle Simson on Twitter

Shortland Street is made here by South Pacific Pictures

music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
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.

#1110 Under Maintenance, Drawords, Word Of The Year: Unfriend

Show 1110 Wednesday 18 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today’s mistake comes from a message on twitter by Lang-8 which is a website I like and I follow them on Twitter. A while ago, they wrote this message on Twitter:

Lang-8 is maintenancing now. Please access again after an hour.
Lang-8, Twitter, 26 May 2009

What’s wrong with that message?

Maintenance is not a verb, it’s a noun. So it’s strange to say the website is maintenancing.

Instead you could say: Lang-8 is currently under maintenance.
Or: Lang-8 is currently down for scheduled maintenance.

By the way, although maintenance is not officially a verb, as far as I know, some people use it as a verb.

Here’s an example someone was talking about on their blog.
It was a note that they found taped to their door.

WE WILL BE ENTERING YOUR APARTMENT ON THURSDAY JANUARY 24, TO MAINTENANCE HEATER FILTERS

What do you think about using maintenance as a verb?

click here

Today I’d like to tell you about this site: Drawords.

I think it’s an interesting idea. An artist posts a new drawing every week and people can submit captions. And then he chooses the best one and then posts it the next week. And he’s planning to make a book out of all the best drawings and captions – and if he uses your caption, then he’ll send you a copy of the book.

Here’s an example of one of the captions. The picture is of a guy mowing the lawns and he doesn’t have any feet. And the caption is: They wanted an arm and a leg for the mower but Jim talked them down.

There are two idioms there. An arm and a leg means a lot of money and to talk someone down means to get the price reduced by negotiating.

STICK NEWS

Kia ora, in Stick News today the New Oxford American Dictionary has chosen “unfriend” as its word of the year.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, "unfriend," is a verb, which means: "To remove someone as a 'friend' on a social networking site such as Facebook."
They chose the word as their word of the year.
But some people aren’t too happy about the selection. They say it should be defriend.
An Oxford spokesperson said that their researchers found that "unfriend" was more commonly used.

And that was Stick News for Wednesday 18th November.
Kia ora.


conversations with sarah
#703 Do you say unfriend or defriend?

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

Bob Do you say unfriend or defriend?

Sarah Ah, I still haven’t got around to using Facebook, so I don’t say either.

Bob How about other sites?

Sarah Um, YouTube is unsubscribe and Twitter is unfollow, I think. So, yeah, I’d probably go with unfriend over defriend.

links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

click here start
artist: #NarNaoud#
album: Green Vision
track: Oriental Standing
from: Gironde, France
artist at Jamendo
album 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: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
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.

#1109 Sione's Wedding, Obama Bowing "Outrage"

Show 1109 Tuesday 17 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today we’re studying a movie called Sione’s Wedding.
Sione’s Wedding is a comedy that was made in 2006 and set in Auckland, New Zealand. And I saw it recently, and as I said a couple of days ago, I really enjoyed it.

So I thought we’d study some of the dialogue that you can see in the trailer.

This movie is about four guys who get banned from their friend’s wedding, because they are always causing trouble. But the person that banned them, the priest, says that they’ll be allowed to go if they bring girlfriends to the wedding. So they all try and find girlfriends before the wedding.

And one of them already has a girlfriend, actually, but he’s been having trouble with his relationship recently, because he’s quite useless and does stuff like goes out all night drinking with his friends.

At the start of the trailer, you can see a girl, that’s his girlfriend, and she’s really angry because he’s just come home at about 6am after drinking all night. And she holds up a clock and says: What time do you call this, Sefa?

That’s a rhetorical question. She’s not asking what the time is. She’s just expressing her anger that he came home so late. And the normal response would be to try and give some kind of excuse or to apologize … but he answers: Ah, bed time? And she whacks him over the head with the clock.

And later on he’s at a bar and he’s trying to tell his friend that he has the power in his relationship.

What are these?
Pants!
Who’s wearing them?
You are!

To wear the pants is an idiom which means to be the person in the relationship who makes most of the decisions.

But Sefa doesn’t realize that his girlfriend’s standing right behind him and she says: But who washes the skid marks out of them?

Do you know what skid marks are?

I thought we’d go to the Urban Dictionary for a definition of skid marks:
poo stains left on underwear when ass is not properly wiped

STICK NEWS

Kia ora, in Stick News today there’s been a bit of a fuss about Obama bowing in Japan.

In Japan, bowing is a social gesture used for greetings and a variety of purposes such as to express apologies, respect, gratitude, humility, sincerity and remorse. Last week, President Obama visited Japan. When he met the Emperor, he bowed. Apparently some commentators in the United States weren’t too happy about Obama’s bow. According to news reports the bow caused outrage and incensed critics in Washington.

And that was Stick News for Tuesday 17th of November.
Kia ora.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is spew.

Spew is an informal word for vomit.

eject matter from the stomach through the mouth

One of the guys in the movie was planning to go to the wedding with this girl, and then his friend says that he’s now going with her and so he’s angry about that, but then his other friend says that they weren’t even a couple anyway. And he says: She wasn’t your girl.

And he replies: We had lunch, danced, got wasted together, she watched me spew on the side of the road, OK, we were a couple.

conversations with sarah
#702 She likes me

Step 1: Repeat Stanley’s line.
Step 2: Read Stanley’s line and talk to Albert.
Albert She smiled at me. She likes me.

Stanley Cos she thinks you’re shoplifting.

Albert No.

filming notes

End shot was filmed was filmed on November 17th 2009. It is a shop called Illicit (202 Karangahape Road, Newton, Auckland) which is the shop they are in from 1:05 to 1:09 in the trailer.

links

today's news
today's STICK NEWS pictures
famous photo

Sione's Wedding - Wikipedia
Sione's Wedding - IMDB
Sione's wedding - official site
Sione's Wedding - Wiki Quote
Sione's Wedding - Amazon

music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
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.

#1108 Craig From England/Spain, All Whites In 2010 World Cup

Show 1108 Monday 16 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show. Today’s guest is Craig. Craig is originally from London in England and he’s been living in Spain for the past twelve years. In Spain he teaches English and he also has a website for Spanish speakers who are learning English.
Craig and his partner visited Japan in August and they came and saw us in Niseko which was great. They are lovely people and we thoroughly enjoyed meeting them and spending the day with them. And we also interviewed each other. And you can see his interview of me on his YouTube channel, here.
I asked Craig about teaching English and learning Spanish and I also asked him to tell us a bit about his website.

The website’s called Mansion Ingles and it’s a website for Spanish students learning English. And there are three full interactive courses on the website, and so you could just go into the website and study. Ah, there are listening exercises, vocabulary exercises and grammar that’s translated into Spanish. So it’s really for Spanish speakers.

And you also make a podcast?

Yeah, we have a monthly newsletter that’s free to subscribe to. And it goes out to, um, to people who are interested in learning English. And on the newsletter, apart from exercises in English, um, there’s podcasts that you can download to your media player, your iPod, and listen to whenever you like.

And do you do any videos?

Just started. We’ve got a channel on YouTube, LaMansionDelIngles, and so I’ve just started getting interested in how I can use video to help people learn English.

STICK NEWS

Kia ora, in Stick News today for the second time ever the All Whites are going to the World Cup.

The national soccer team in New Zealand is called the All Whites.
They’ve only been to the World Cup once before, in 1982.
On Saturday night the All Whites beat Bahrain 1-0. This means they can now play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

And that was Stick News for Monday the 16th of November.
Kia ora.

conversations with sarah
#701 Why did you move to Spain?

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

Sarah Why did you move to Spain?

Craig Well my family moved before me - my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law - and I’d been travelling before hand so I thought, um, I’d like to spent some time with my family. And luckily I, I found work, um, in Spain and I stayed.

Sarah Did you speak any Spanish before you got there?

Craig I’d taken a course, ah, but not, not much, no.

Sarah How did you learn it?

Craig I learned, I met a Spanish, ah, girl and she taught me quite a lot. And she’s still teaching me. And, um, I did a formal, a couple of formal courses in Valencia.

Sarah What was the thing that helped improve your Spanish the most?

Craig I think being in situations with Spanish people, social situations, where you, um, have to explain things and, and have social conversations with, with people. Helps your listening and, and your fluency.

Sarah What do you enjoy about teaching English?

Craig I like the interaction in the classroom and I like the unpredictability of lessons, even though you have a plan, you never really know what’ll happen and what feedback you’ll get from the students. I really like that.

Sarah Have you taught in any other countries?

Craig I taught in Israel for a while in an Arab-Jewish community centre. And I taught briefly in, in Thailand. And in the UK.

Sarah How did you find out about The Daily English Show?

Craig A friend of mine at work, John, um, saw it about three years ago, and he said, hey look at this, this is, this is really new and this is, ah, this is a great site. So as soon as I saw it, I realized it was worth going back to, so I’ve been following The Daily English Show for, for about three years.

Sarah Why did you come to Japan?

Craig I’ve always wanted to see Japan, since, ah, I studied Karate when I was a kid. And I’ve always been interested in the culture. It just never happened. So, ah, when my girlfriend suggested Japan I thought yeah, great, let’s go. So we’re here for a month, travelling around the country.

Sarah Apart from Spanish, have you learnt any other languages?

Craig I learnt Hebrew when I was in Israel and I speak a little French. That’s it.

Sarah Can you tell us some things that Spanish English learners have trouble with?

Craig Um, pronunciation can be a problem. Especially the h which is very soft in English - it’s hello. In Spanish, you tend to say hello from the throat. And that’s one, that’s one problem. Um, phrasal verbs I think are problematic for any learner.

Sarah Do you have any advice for people who are learning English?

Craig Yeah, one thing, um, probably the best thing somebody could do would be to go to an English-speaking country and just put themselves in a situation where they have to speak English. But the most important thing is to do something in English that you enjoy, that you like. So, whatever your interests are, if you pursue those in English. Then, ah, it’ll be more fun and if you’re having fun, you’re probably learning.

links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

cws start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
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.

#1107 Hot Chips

Show 1107 Sunday 15 November 2009
Watch today's show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Sunday Kitchen#146 Hot Chips

When I was in Japan, a friend sent me some classic New Zealand tomato sauce and a tomato shaped tomato sauce dispenser to remind me of home.

So, before I left, I decided to eat some chips, kiwi-style.

To prepare, I went to the convenience store and bought a cheap bottle of wine and a newspaper.

Then I cut up some potatoes.

I put lots of oil in a frying pan and I deep fried the potatoes.

I put some salt on the chips and then wrapped them up in plain newsprint and a few layers of newspaper.

Then I took the chips and the wine to the balcony to create a picnic effect without the effort of actually going anywhere.

I squeezed some tomato sauce onto the paper and filled up the glasses.

The chips were too soft and I realized I didn’t cook them for long enough. So I cooked another batch and they came out much better – a lovely golden colour.

Very tasty.

music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

bgm
artist: Jay P. Baker
album: The Last Riddle In Time
track: The Ravens Soliloqy
from: the US
artist at Jamendo
album at Jamendo


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.

#1106 Auckland City - My New Neighbourhood

The latest version of this transcript has been moved here:
http://www.thedailyenglishshow.com/show/1106-auckland-city-my-new-neighbourhood/




























Today we took the camera into the city centre to show you a bit of our new neighbourhood.
This is the home of the radio station I always listen to. I'm thinking of hanging out on this corner so I can stalk my favourite announcers.

And this is the police station. They now provide the bgm for The Daily English Show.

This is Aotea Square. It used to be a really cool place to hang out ... but it's now being redeveloped, as you can see. Apparently it'll be finished next year.

There's a 100 yen shop in Queen Street. It's just the same as in Japan, except it's called a $3 shop and things cost $3.40. I love it how their sign says: high quality.

This is a famous theatre called The Civic.

We saw some cute Christmas displays in the window of a department store.
And a massive Santa with his face wrapped in bandages.
Recovering from plastic surgery, perhaps?

I think this crossing is one of the busiest crossings in New Zealand.
Not quite like Shibuya …

We saw a guy skateboarding.
And a guy painting in the street. He attracted a bit of crowd.

We also saw a guy begging and a couple of people holding plastic bags up to their mouths. I don't remember seeing that in Auckland before.

We also saw a giant vacuum cleaner.
And a couple of sailors. They reminded me of Japanese school girls.

music

artist: Kevin MacLeod
tracks: Future Cha Cha, Backed Vibes (clean)
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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.

#1105 Behold My Kool Style

Show 1105 Friday 13 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today we’re studying a song called Behold My Kool Style which came out in about 1996 I think and it’s by a New Zealand hip hop group called Dam Native.

First I thought I’d you a bit of a story about why I chose this song today. Dam Native released an album in 1997 which I still really love. And it happened to be the album that I was listening to a lot right before I came back to New Zealand and then when I got here I found out that they had a gig on … and it was only $5, so I thought, oh, I have to go. And so I went and it was great. And their music had changed a bit since that ‘97 album – but it was still really good and, yeah, I just couldn’t believe I was there, listening to this music that I’d been listening to on my iPod for years.

Anyway, let’s talk about the song. You can pick up a few Māori and New Zealand English words in this song.

For example patu which is a kind of traditional Maori weapon.

He says:

Crack the ill styles
With my patu
To open up you

He also mentions Māori gods like Papatūānuku the Earth mother and Ruaumoko the god of volcanoes and Māui who is a demigod, I think.

He also mentions Jonah Lomu who is a famous rugby player in New Zealand. And The Springbok Tour which is a famous event in New Zealand history.

As it says in Wikipedia: The 1981 South Africa rugby union tour of New Zealand (still known by many in New Zealand as The Springbok Tour) was a controversial tour of New Zealand by the South Africa national rugby union team, known as "the Springboks".

I was only three in 1981, so obviously I don’t remember it, but people in New Zealand still often mention The Springbok Tour.

And Dam Native says:

Commotion like it was The Springbok Tour.

The song is basically about how great Dam Native is – which is often the theme of rap songs I think – along with references to Māori and New Zealand culture, including colonialism.

He says:

I pledge allegiance to all iwi
Who cut ties with Liz and her people
Trying to deceive me

Māori tribes are called iwi. And by Liz I guess he means Queen Elizabeth.

Anyway, go and have listen to the song and don’t worry if you can’t understand most of it … it’s not easy to understand – just see if you can at least pick up a few words.

Word Of The Day

Today’s word is due. This is a line from today’s song:

I've paid my dues from here to Timbuktu and back

I’ve paid my dues is an idiom.

Someone explained it well on the word reference forums, they said, I’ve paid my dues means: “I've done the work, made the effort, spent the time necessary to earn whatever status or position I have achieved.”

And that’s what Dam Native means in the song. He’s saying that he earned his position.

From here to Timbaktu is an expression which means a long way away. And Timbaktu is an actual city too. Not that I’ve been there, I was just reading about it on Wikipedia.

conversations with sarah
#700 Where was the concert?

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

Toru Where was the concert?

Sarah Dam Native?

Toru Yeah.

Sarah Ah, well, it wasn’t really a concert. It was more of a gig …

Toru What’s the difference between a concert and a gig?

Sarah Ah, a concert is normally bigger, like in a stadium, or something. But this was just in a bar. It was somewhere over there … about ten minutes walk from here.

Behold My Kool Style
Dam Native

LYRICS

Behold my kool style
While I greet the funk with my Māori
Want to (?)
On the base guitar
My skills allow me
Break the tension
Or the tackle
Like Jonah Lomu on attack
I've paid my dues from here to Timbuckto and back
Mad
If I had my crew up in the house
It makes the difference
It is my preference
Refer to reference
Crack the ill styles
With my patu
To open up you
In the meanwhile
I still pursue
To inject you with my horiest intelligence
So intelligent
Make way for the native to fall back on your heels
I stop the sun up
Just like my legendary
(?) like son of Papatūānuku
Māui to make the days longer
Erupt a (?) like Ruaumoko
King of volcanoes
Commotion like it was The Springbok Tour
The only one representing my hori ways
Tautoko te mahi o tēnei ra just about every day
It's the freakafied funk hori on the loose
Haere Mai (?)Māori produce

Behold my kool style
While I greet the funk with my Māori
The incredible, lyrical and original
etc.

Sworn to wage war
I pledge allegiance to all iwi
Who cut ties with Liz and her people
Trying to deceive me
By the way I
Manage to be the proud Hori I am
I take I (?) know me
As the horified addict
Of (?) strength
I keep my fitness
Want to (?)
On my base guitar
My skills allow me
It's the next step
I haven't hit yet
Next time round I (?) dance all
I get much respect
The world is yours
But the production is mine this time
Throw your spanner in my works
You'll be ready for the line this time around
War

Behold my kool style
While I greet the funk with my Māori
The incredible, lyrical and original
etc.

My rein of terror
As soon as my lyric hits
Undeniably proven I inhabit all mics with all vigour
The boy never quits practicing in eloquence
The return of the dread eye, since '86
Forceful
Fuck, you're making me livid
Wrapped up in non-fat
Fuck the silver medalist
Man, I'm the gold winner
Proven fact that Dam is good
Native that's the name we're talking
None let off the hook
Brothers, listen up to my commentary
My use of words, killer
Send your skills to the word cemetery
Will the multitudes handle hori attitudes
The greatest sizes are the skilless and the rude

Behold my kool style
While I greet the funk with my Maori
The incredible, lyrical and original
etc.


* Also watch video here.


music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

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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.

#1104 Always Blow On The Pie

Show 1104 Thursday 12 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show. Today we’re going to start getting into the English study again … and we’re going to study a video clip.

This video is from a New Zealand reality TV show called Police Ten 7. And the clip seems to have become quite popular on the internet recently – in New Zealand anyway – because people think it’s funny. And I think it’s funny too. So I thought I’d try and explain the situation, and why I think it’s funny and talk about a bit of the language.

A police officer is talking to a guy in the street. And they think he has been involved in a crime … but this officer is waiting for some more police officers to arrive, so he’s just talking to the guy and he’s trying to buy a bit of time.

And the guy has been doing something like stealing stuff, but he makes up a few stories about what he’s been doing. And he says: I was just going up the road to get me a pie or something.

It’s interesting how he uses me instead of myself. He says to get me a pie instead of to get myself a pie, or just to get a pie. And that’s pretty common in a certain variety of informal spoken English in New Zealand.

By a pie he doesn’t mean an apple pie or some kind of desert, he means a kind of savoury pie with various fillings, that’s a kind of popular junk food in New Zealand.

Then the officer says a joke. He asks the guy:

Three o’clock in the morning and you’re buying a pie from the BP station, what must you always do?

I don’t know.

Three o’clock in the morning, that pie’s been in the warming draw for probably about 12 hours, it’ll be thermonuclear. You must always blow on the pie.

I’m hungry.

Always blow on the pie. Safer communities together.

I think it’s mostly funny because of the delivery – he says it very seriously, well, pretending to be serious, but he’s actually joking. That kind of delivery is called: deadpan.

It’s also funny that he says the New Zealand Police slogan: Safer Communities Together.

So go and watch the video and tell me what you think. Do you think it’s funny?



Word of the Day

Today’s word is ditch.

Ditch is a noun which means: a narrow channel dug to hold or carry water.

There are usually ditches on either side of the road, so if you crash your car, you might end up in the ditch.

Ditch is also an informal verb. It says here: to get rid of sth/sb because you no longer want or need it/them.

The guy in the video is explaining to the police officer why he is a long way from home at 3Oclock in the morning and he says: My mates dropped me off and ditched me.

And he means that his friends stopped the car and let him out and then drove off and left him there for some reason.



conversations with sarah
#699 What’s that in your pocket?

Step 1: Repeat the officer's lines.
Step 2: Read the officer's lines and talk to the guy.

Officer What’s that in your pocket?

Guy Just my CD player.

Officer No, what’s that?

Guy It’s just a torch.

Officer Why have you got a torch?

Guy I don’t know, just to see around.

Officer Why do you need to see around?



Always Blow On The Pie


Always Blow On The Pie - LONGER VERSION


SCRIPT:

There’s plenty of evidence he’s spent a night out stealing.

What’s that in your pocket?
Just my CD player.
No, what’s that?
It’s just a torch.
Why have you got a torch?
I don’t know, just to see around.
Why do you need to see around?
What else have you got?
You don’t have to show me. You’re not obliged to or anything.
Ah, yeah, just my CD player.
Oh, OK. Why are your shoes all muddy?
I don’t know, they’ve always … muddy?
Yeah.
They’ve always been like this.
OK.
What part of town do you live?
Ah, Mangere, Mangere East.
You live in Mangere?
Yeah.
Oh, OK, you’re a long way from home tonight.
Yeah. **** My mates dropped me off and ditched me.
Your mates dropped you off and ditched you?
Yeah, cause we were meant to go to this party.
Where was the party?
Ah … one of these streets, not too sure.
One of these streets … I’ll get your name, eh.

Glen’s … so far failed to impress … he attempts another one, he gets an unusual response.

I was just up the road to get me a pie or something.
You got some money?
Yeah, I’ve got like $3.
How much?
Three dollars.
Three dollars? Does that buy you a pie?
At the BP station.
OK. 3 o’clock in the morning and you’re buying a pie from the BP station, what must you always do?
I don’t know.
Three o’clock in the morning, that pie’s been in the warming draw for probably about 12 hours, it’ll be thermonuclear. You must always blow on the pie.
I’m hungry.
Always blow on the pie. Safer communities together. OK?

And like the joke he’s had to endure, Glen’s evening has reached a bad end. As back up arrives, Glen’s instantly recognized as one of the guys who fled police at the scene.

Why’d you run? Why’d you run from me? Over there, you know what I’m talking about. Explain that for us.
I don’t know.
You don’t know?
You and your mates ran from me over there. Why’d you do it? You don’t know what I’m talking about. OK. I’m telling you now, I was over there. … Two of your friends were with a red Mazda. Do you remember that? Eh? You don’t remember it? I saw you over there. OK? I’m 100% positive that you ran from me. Because of that, you’re under arrest for unlawfully interfering with a motor vehicle. Do you understand that? Because you’re under arrest, you have the right … just listen, you have the right to refrain from making a statement, also you have the right to consult a lawyer without delay… Do you understand your rights?

Always Blow On The Pie guy on NZ morning TV show:


music

show start
artist: Kevin MacLeod
track: Future Cha Cha
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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: Kevin MacLeod
track: The Jazz Woman
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
artist site

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

qa bgm
artist: Paul D. Miller aka Dj Spooky
album: Dj Spooky's contribution for the 'One Laptop Per Child Project'
track: Moon rain
from: New York, United States
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.

#1103 Q + A Part 2

Show 1103 Wednesday 11 November
Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show. This is the second and final q and a video, so today I’m going to be answering more of your questions.

(question from: Tubenjunge)

What was the first thing you did after arriving in NZ?

The first day, I can hardly remember because I was so tired. The night before we left Japan I only slept for about an hour because we were so busy packing up. And, so, by the time I got here I was so tired. And I think all we did was … yeah, we just went back to my grandmother’s place and had a shower … yeah, that was the first thing I did, have a shower. That’s pretty much all I wanted to do after a long flight.
And then in the days after that, just started to look for an apartment, get a mobile phone, that kind of thing … not very exciting.

Will we meet your grandmother as a guest?

Hmm. That’s a good question. I’m not sure, I’ll have to ask her.

Have you had any doubts about your decision to move to Auckland?

Not really, apart from the speed of the internet.

What’s up with KNF? Is he enjoying NZ and had he ever been there before?

No he’d never been here before and yes, he’s enjoying it.

What are you missing already?

Ah, fast internet. Um. I have a cold right now and there are these delicious lollies in Japan called “nodo ame” which I really like. And the pharmacies that I looked in yesterday didn’t have anything like that. Ah, so, yeah, just little things like that. Um, and some of the services in Japan are better, like courier services. And … what else? Ah … oh, washlet toilets, those are the best things ever. New Zealand really needs washlet toilets.

(question from: isaacsenglish)

Did you suffer from a reverse culture shock?

Yeah, I think so. I’d been away 8 and a half years so a lot of stuff has changed … like there are now apartment buildings all over Auckland and there didn’t used to be. And lots of stuff is still the same and sometimes I’m not sure if it’s changed or not because I can’t remember what it was like.

Are you missing any of the foods you’d gotten used to in Japan?

Um, I haven’t really started to miss them, because I’ve been enjoying the foods that you can get here but not in Japan. But I guess I’ll start to miss them. And yeah, I miss things like tofu, natto and plain soymilk – the stuff without sugar and other stuff in it.

Have you visited your family?

Yes. I have caught up with many family members: mother, father, grandmothers, sister, nieces, cousin, aunties and uncles … not all of them, yet, but um, yeah, it’s been great catching up with family.

I know very little about New Zealand, will you tell us about the country in your future videos?

Yes, sure.

(question from: maximum1)

Will you continue to do shows about and interview people from Japan?

Yes. Less than we did when we were in Japan, of course, because we’re not there any more. But, yeah, I’m sure Japanese news will continue to feature in Stick News … because I haven’t stopped reading Japanese news online. And yes, definitely planning to interview Japanese people in New Zealand. I’m really looking forward to that.

(question from: skippyXG)

Do you think it will be easier/harder to find people to interview for Monday Guest in Aotearoa?

I think it will easier. But I guess I won’t know until I start asking people.

Any plan to start a new segment on Auckland's culture/people?

Yes. We’re planning to visit different places in Auckland and go to Auckland events and interview Auckland people – both for Monday Guest and also we’re planning to do lots of street interviews. I think those are really interesting to see a cross section of the people who live here.

What's your opinion on YouTube's new channels design?

I don’t really like it. But … oh well, I guess I’ll get used to it.

(question from: 3000hisham)

Do you think that teaching English in a native English country is easier?

Yeah, I think it might be because there are materials everywhere and the students have the advantage of being able to use what they learn immediately. But then again, it depends on the student and, yeah, there many factors and I think probably both have their advantages and disadvantages.

(question from: Redfrettchen)

Were did you live between moving and finding an apartment?

With my grandmother. It was awesome. She’s an amazing cook and I didn’t want to leave.

(question from: TandemFuri)

What are some of you're favourite movies?

Ah, I like movies like Shawshank Redemption, Fight Club, True Romance, Once Were Warriors. And, yeah, since I’ve been here I went to the movies and I saw a movie called Sione’s Wedding. It’s not new, it’s a couple of years old, but they had a special showing to raise money for Samoa after the tsunami there. And yeah, that was a great movie. I loved it. Very funny.

(question from: ApostrapheT)

What's it like being back in NZ after all these years? How is KNF liking the change of scenery?

It’s good. And yeah, he’s enjoying it.

(question from: maximum1)

What are the challenges (if any) when teaching English to Japanese students? Are there any particular English language concepts native Japanese speakers find difficult to grasp?

Hmm, that question probably requires a longer answer than I can give now. And … If you want to compare Japanese students with students from other countries, I’m probably not the best person to ask, because I’ve mostly just taught Japanese students. But, in general, a few examples, ah, the hesitation to try and speak can be a challenge, and as for grammar, ah, the difference between the past simple and the present perfect can be difficult to grasp.

(question from: Noah2112)

Have you been to Brian Tamaki's Destiny Church, and is he your King?

How did you know?

(question from: PoisonedAsh88)

What is it that you are going to miss most about Japan?

I’m not sure yet. But one of the things that I miss most about Tokyo is my dojo. I really loved it.

If ever, do you plan on moving somewhere else later on in life?

Yes. I’d like to travel more – and I’d like to try living somewhere else. I certainly don’t plan on living in the CBD forever, that’s for sure … with the lovely background noise of police sirens.

(question from: goodisgoog)

Do you like David Bowie?

Um, I don’t know. I’m obviously not a huge fan if I’m not even sure how to pronounce his name. And I can’t remember any of his music off hand … maybe I should go and listen to some now.

I’ll see you tomorrow. Bye!




music

artist: Kevin MacLeod
tracks: Future Cha Cha, Desert City
from: Brooklyn, NY, United States
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.