Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Show 571 Wednesday 5 December


Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.

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

Today’s mistake comes from a flyer for Loaf Lounge.
Internet is written as two words.

Internet should be one word and it’s usually spelt with a capital I like that ... but I prefer to spell it with a small i. How about you? How do you spell internet?
I always wondered why it was spelt with a capital and I read an interesting explanation of that the other day. So I’ll put a link to that, check it out if you’re interested.

And I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether to spell it with a capital i or a small i – but it’s definitely one word.

I have a few other words I’d like to talk about today – scumbag and prick.

These are some words used in parliament today by a super classy New Zealand politician.

scumbag
noun (slang, offensive)
an unpleasant person

That only has one meaning.

As for prick, it has a few meanings. For example, the verb prick can mean to press something briefly with a sharp point.
For example, Sleeping Beauty pricks her finger and falls into a deep sleep.

But that’s not the meaning the deputy prime minister was going for today.

prick
noun (vulgar slang)

a man regarded as stupid, unpleasant or contemptible

If you see vulgar slang, be careful when you use it because it means that it’s not appropriate for some situations, like parliament ... I would have thought.

Apparently, Dr Cullen called John Key a "rich prick" and then said: "You scumbag, John. Scumbag, scumbag."

It’s pretty disgraceful that politicians speak like that in parliament, don’t you think? Not that I’m saying John Key’s not a rich prick ... but surely there are other ways of saying it.



STICK NEWS

Kia Ora, in Stick News today prisoners in New Zealand jails may soon be unable to use cellphones thanks to a bill which was introduced to Parliament yesterday.

When people are sent to prison in New Zealand, they’re not usually issued with cellphones.
So prisoners smuggle them in and use the phones to conduct their dodgy deals.
Now the government has introduced a bill which “permits the electronic detection, monitoring, disabling and disruption of wireless transmissions within prison boundaries”.
The NZ Herald reported it also increases penalties for staff who are caught delivering banned items to prisoners.


And that was Stick News for Wednesday the 5th of December.
Kia Ora.




THE SNOW REPORT

the view from the studio

This is the view outside at 8 pm.
And this is three hours later.
Hmmm. Not much different. Well, that was fascinating.



conversations with sarah
#347 So, do you think John Key is a “rich prick”?

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

James So, do you think John Key is a “rich prick”?

Sarah Well, I wouldn’t really use those words ... but um ... hmm, I was just reading about him in Wikipedia actually and it sounds like the rich part is true.

James What does it say?

Sarah It says, hang on a minute, “his net worth is estimated to be in excess of 40 million New Zealand dollars”.

James Wow, 40 million. How did he get so much money?

Sarah He used to be an investment banker.

James Ahhh. And what about his political views?

Sarah Well, from what it says in Wikipedia most of the bills he supported or opposed are the opposite of what I think, so hmm ...
And I really don’t like how he said there’s an “underclass” in New Zealand.

James You don’t think there’s an underclass in New Zealand?

Sarah No, not at all. I mean, some people don’t have enough money or food or whatever but it doesn’t mean they are underclass. It just means they have certain issues and as a society we should help each other – but I don’t see how labeling people as “underclass” really helps the situation.

James Did he say that recently?

Sarah No, it was last year.



links

today's STICK NEWS pictures

music

show start
artist: Anawin
album: A glimpse inside the bubble
track: Little jazzy
from: Arles, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo

the snow report start
artist: Olga Scotland
album: Scotland Yard
track: Absolute
from: Moscow, Russia
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site

qa start
artist: ioeo
album: Groovetracks
tracks: groovetracks ending
from: Saint Raphael, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site

qa bgm
artist: OPRACHINA
album: The jazz farm
track: Grigioscuro
from: Roma, Italy
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
YouTube channel

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