To be in the black means to make a profit, when a company receives more money than it spends. (The opposite is to be in the red, when you are losing money.) Movie studios (companies that make movies) sometimes make millions of dollars in profit on their films, and sometimes lose millions.

Recently, the movie The Avengers was released (started to be shown in theaters) around the world, making (as of last weekend) more than a billion dollars (that’s $1,000,000,000). The cost of the movie was “only” $220 million, so the movie studio is so far (up to this date) about $800 million in the black. That’s a pretty good profit for only 19 days.

What’s interesting about movies like The Avengers is that most of the money is made outside of the United States. Men in Black, the 1997 blockbuster (movie that makes a lot of money), made more than $500 million, with about 60% of that coming from outside the U.S. In fact, the international success of movies is so important to studios that one writer recently wrote an article called “How to Make a Hollywood Hit” (successful movie), in which she pointed out (noted) the elements (characteristics) of an internationally successful movie.  Here are some of those elements:

• Set the movie (have the movie take place) in an emerging market – or “nowhere.” Many internationally successful movies take place in a fantasy world, such as Harry Potter, Avatar, and Lord of the Rings.
• Use an established (already known) brand (idea, product, or service). The Avengers, for example, is based upon well-known comic books and characters many people are already familiar with.
• Get bilingual (speaking two languages) stars. Adding Antonio Banderas’s Puss in Boots character to the second Shrek movie helped triple (multiplied by three) ticket sales in Spain and doubled them in Mexico.
• Make the movie in 3-D and IMAX. In 2011, 40% of the movie ticket sales in China, Brazil, and Russia were from 3-D movies. The Avengers was, of course, released in 3-D and IMAX in addition to the “normal” way.
• Sell toys based on or related to the movie. The movie Cars was not as successful as the movie studio wanted it to be, but toys related to the movie made $10 billion dollars. Yes, I said billion. Of course, The Avengers will probably make even more from its toys.

I saw The Avengers last week, and although I liked it, I didn’t really think it was a great movie. (Star Trek was much better, IMHO (in my humble opinion).) But when a movie makes a billion dollars in less than a month, you know it must be doing something right.

~Jeff

Photo credit: The Avengers poster, Wikipedia CC

We talk a lot about the Learning Guide that accompanies each podcast because we designed it to help you learn English better and faster, and isn’t that why you listen? Get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.

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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 790 – Giving Birth to Twins

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “twins” and “litter.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Trends in Giving Birth.”
“Many babies are born in the United States every day. Most are born in hospitals, where they are “monitored” (watched over) and cared for by team of doctors and nurses…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 346
Topics: Ask an American – Innovation; pain versus sorrow versus woe; manhood; to be over someone versus to be all over someone

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Dot Com Movies.”
“The movie “industry” (business) has “taken notice of” (given attention to) the quick “rise” (rise in popularity) of Internet-based businesses in the past 20 to 30 years…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 791 – Taking Photographs

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “still” and “candid.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about the “Invention of the Modern Instant Camera.”
“Today, most Americans use “digital cameras,” cameras that allow the user to save pictures to his or her computer instead of printing them out. This was not always the case…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide

If you work in the U.S. in a full-time job, you probably get paid vacation time. In the U.S., a full-time job is typically 40 hours of work a week, although that varies (is different) depending on the employer. Getting paid vacation time means that you continue to receive your paycheck (salary) even when you go on vacation. How much vacation time an employee gets is different depending on their job and their seniority (how long they have worked for a company or organization), but most employees start out with two weeks each year. Veteran (long time) employees could receive several weeks of vacation time each year after many years with the same company or organization. (This is, of course, in addition to major holidays when all employees get paid vacation time.)

Surprisingly, a recent survey (questionnaire; research asking people the same set of questions) reported in the Los Angeles Times showed that nearly half of Americans didn’t use half of their vacation time in 2011. The survey asked 1,000 adults of different ages and experience their use of vacation time and many of them passed on (did not use; did not take advantage of) taking a vacation when they could.  Their main reasons for not using vacation time were that they were too busy and that they didn’t want to play catch-up (try to once again be at the proper level, or the same level as other people, after falling behind) when they returned to work.

The report points out a strange contradiction (for two things to be the opposite of each other) however: In the same survey, Americans said they would give up (not have) their next promotion (advancement to a higher-level job) or 5% of their salary to have five or more days of vacation each  year.

Are you working in a job that gives you paid vacation time? If so, how much do you get each year? Do you take all of the vacation time you get each year?

~ Lucy

Photo Credit: Desk333 from Wikipedia

The title of today’s post is an old saying (expression) in English. A shower is when it rains. You can have light showers (a little bit of rain) or heavy showers (a lot of rain). The showers of early spring help the flowers grow, and so we have the expression, “April showers bring May flowers.” To take a shower, you probably know, is to pour water over your body to clean it. You could take a shower in heavy showers by going outside with some soap while it is raining, but I don’t recommend it.

I started talking about U.S. state nicknames a few weeks ago. Since spring has arrived in the northern hemisphere (the part of the world north of the equator), I’ll mention a few nicknames related to trees and flowers. The most well-known nickname in this category is probably the Buckeye State, given to the state of Ohio, which is located in the eastern, central part of the United States, just west of Pennsylvania. A buckeye is a large tree that grows in this region of the country. It is said that the buckeye was the first kind of tree felled (cut down) by one of the earliest white settlers (people who came from another country or region to live or “settle” in an unpopulated area) of Ohio. The name was later applied to anyone from the state. For example, we could say that William Henry Harrison, our ninth president, was a Buckeye. (He was also rather unlucky; he died after being president for only 32 days!) The Ohio State University uses Buckeye as the name of their sports teams.

Kansas, located in the central part of the U.S., is often called the Sunflower State, because this colorful plant grows there. Kansas is also known for producing a lot of wheat, a plant used in making flour for bread and baking, and is therefore sometimes known as “America’s breadbasket.” A basket is a container used to carry something, and so a breadbasket is a container for carrying bread. Kansas is also famous for being the home of Dorothy in the movie, The Wizzard of Oz. We talked about the significance of an expression from that movie, “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” on Cafe 239.

If you have ever seen the popular 1980s Julia Roberts movie, Steel Magnolias (and I haven’t), then you know that southern state of Mississippi is associated with this beautiful tree, the magnolia. The movie, a classic chick flick (move popular with women), begins with an argument about magnolias. The Magnolia State of Mississippi is also where a more recent movie, The Help, takes place (which is also about a group of women).

If you don’t watch a lot of movies, then perhaps you listen to music, in which case you may have heard of bluegrass music. Bluegrass is a type of grass you can find in cool, moist (wet) climates (areas), including the eastern state of Kentucky (just south of Ohio), which is known as the Bluegrass State. Bluegrass music originally comes from the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, and started as a type of traditional folk music mixing Irish, Scottish, English, and African American musical styles. It is now considered a kind of country music. We talked all about bluegrass music in Cafe 137; you can hear a great example of it here.

~Jeff

Photo credit: Sunflower, Wikipedia CC

 

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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 788 – Being Conservative and Daring

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to fall flat” and “sheer.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “What Color is Your Parachute?”
“Richard Nelson Bolles wrote a book called What Color is Your Parachute? in 1970. It was originally “self-published” (published, marketed, and sold by the…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 345
Topics:  Famous Americans – Magic Johnson; the role of ham radio operators in the U.S.; understanding versus knowledge versus acquaintance; below the waist and below the belt; earth to (someone)

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and Michael “Air” Jordan.
“Like Magic Johnson, many sports “figures” (famous people) are better known by their nickname than their “given” (real) name. Other sports figures’ names are…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 789 – Taking Care of Pets

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “treat” and “carrier.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “The Humane Society.”
“The Humane Society of the United States is a large nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC. “Founded” (established; created) in 1954, its mission is to…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide

“If you ask people today [in the U.S.] what a street is for, they will say cars,” writes Peter Norton, according to a recent Atlantic Cities article. “That’s practically (almost) the opposite of what they would have said 100 years ago.”

Norton reports that 100 years ago, streets in the U.S. were “vibrant (full of activity or energy) places with a multitude (large number) of users and uses.” The videos I included in an earlier blog post – The Big One – clearly show what he means. In those videos, the streets of San Francisco are filled with a constantly changing mixture of people, horses and riders, horses and wagons, trolleys (tram or streetcar), and a few cars.

When cars first appeared, they were considered “intruders (someone who enters an area illegally) and a menace (something dangerous).” And if someone was killed by a car, it was a public tragedy (sad event), not a private one. According to Norton, the death of someone killed by a car would be commemorated (to remember and show respect) with marching bands, flower-carrying children dressed in white, and even monuments (a structure to remind people of something or someone). If a car killed or injured (hurt) someone, most people assumed  (thought it was true even if they didn’t have proof) that the driver was responsible.

In 1923, people in Cincinnati, Ohio, became so angry about the danger of cars that they collected more than 7,000 signatures (written names) to support a law that would require a governor (a mechanical control) on every car so it couldn’t go more than 25 miles (40 km) per hour.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) – we often call it “triple A” – and other organizations began to teach children that streets were for cars, not children. They even provided money for safety patrols – older students who were trained to help younger children cross streets safely before and after school.

Car manufacturers were worried. They were afraid they wouldn’t sell many cars unless something changed. So they began to lobby (try to persuade someone in the government) lawmakers to write laws that restricted (limited) pedestrian (usually a person walking) use of streets so that only cars and other vehicles could use them. Lawmakers listened, and jaywalking became illegal (against the law) in the early 1920s.

Jaywalking is walking across a street or road where it is dangerous or illegal – Jeff talked about it several years ago in English Cafe 51. In the U.S., pedestrians may cross streets at places that are identified as cross-walks, a part of the road reserved (set aside) for pedestrians. Most cross-walks are at corners – with a signal light or stop sign – but they can also be located in the middle of the block (in between the corners). They are usually marked by white or yellow lines. If there is a signal light or stop sign, pedestrians must wait for the signal and for cars to stop before they walk across the cross-walk. While pedestrians are in a cross-walk, cars must wait until they cross the street.

If pedestrians cross a street at any other place, they are guilty of jaywalking and can be fined (pay money for doing something illegal) – in Los Angeles the fine is about $200. If they cause an accident, they may be legally responsible, even if they are injured.

If I asked someone where you live what a street is for, what would they tell me? Do you have jaywalking laws?

~ Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English.

 Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

What advice would you give a young person who is about to graduate from (finish; complete) college in 2012? Last year I talked about the tradition of commencement speeches at American colleges. A commencement speech is usually given by a well-known or important person to the graduating class of a university at the graduation ceremony (official event or celebration). It typically has advice for the young people who are now about to move on to the “real world” of work (or, for many nowadays, unemployment). You can read an example of a speech here.

One writer recently published his list of “10 Things Your Commencement Speaker Won’t Tell You,” with his advice to university graduates this year. I’ve shortened his list to five. Read them and see if you agree with his advice:

1. Don’t Make the World Worse. Most speakers tell students to make the world better, but Wheelan says he wants to “lower the bar” (make the minimum requirement or expectation less difficult). Instead of trying to improve the world, just don’t make it any worse! This is actually a variation (another version) of the traditional advice to medical doctors to “first, do no harm,” meaning don’t make the patient sicker than he or she already is.
2. Marry Someone Smarter Than You. With the economy in tough shape (poor condition), it is often necessary for both spouses (husbands and wives) to work. Wheelan says that the commencement ceremony itself is a good place to start looking for a smart (or smarter) partner. This is because at many colleges, the best students get to wear special clothing and have their names listed separately in the program (the official booklet for the ceremony), so they’re easy to find.
3. Read Obituaries. Obituaries are stories usually published in a newspaper about someone who has recently died. Families can pay for one of these in order to announce the death of one of their members. Wheelan says reading obituaries can show you how “interesting, successful people rarely (don’t usually) live orderly, linear lives.” An orderly, linear life would be one which is well-planned out and moves in a “straight line,” from A to B to C. Wheelan is saying that most of our lives are not that simple and straightforward, but involve unexpected changes.
4. It’s All Borrowed Time. To borrow something is to have someone loan or give you something for a short time that you have to give back someday. Life, Wheelan says, is not something you get to keep forever. Every day could be your last. To live on borrowed time means to be able to live only for a short time before things will change or end. If that’s true, then we must ask ourselves whether the way we are living now is really the best we can do. This idea is related to what the ancient Romans called momento mori – a phrase or a physical object like a skull that reminds you of death, that we all live on borrowed time.
5. Don’t Try to be Great. Wheelan says that being great usually involves some luck and circumstances (situations) that are beyond your control (that you cannot change or effect). Instead of trying to be great, Wheelan says we should try instead to be solid – that is, very good at what we do, reliable, and dependable.

Do you agree with Wheelan’s advice? If not, what advice do you have for our new college graduates this year?

~Jeff

Photo credit: St. Jerome by Lucas van Leydan, Wikipedia CC

Do you want to improve your English, but don’t have a lot of time? Make the best use of the time you have by getting the Learning Guide.

We designed the Learning Guide to help you learn English better and faster. Get more vocabulary, language explanations, sample sentences, comprehension questions, cultural notes, and more.

Get the Learning Guide and support ESL Podcast today by becoming a Basic or Premium Member!

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ON MONDAY
ESL Podcast 786 – Going to a Bar

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “shot” and “impression.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Types of Bars and Pubs.”
“Americans enjoy going to many types of “drinking establishments” or “bars.” A “dive bar” is the least “sophisticated” (elegant; refined) type of bar…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON WEDNESDAY
English Cafe 344
Topics: American Playwrights – Tennessee Williams; how to become a real estate agent; thief versus burglar versus robber versus mugger; to sell someone a bill of goods; to hold up one’s end of a bargain; momentum

In the Learning Guide:  Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear).
In “What Insiders Know,” you will read about “The Multiple Listing Service.”
“If you want to buy or sell a home in the United States, your real estate agent or broker will very likely use the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).  The MLS is a…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide
…

ON FRIDAY
ESL Podcast 787 – Speaking to a Baby or Young Child

In the Learning Guide: Get a full transcript (written version of every word you hear), vocabulary list and sample sentences, and comprehension questions.
In “What Else Does it Mean,” learn the other meanings of “to look after” and “no-no.”
In the “Culture Note,” learn about “Terms for Relatives.”
“Very few children call their parents “mother” and “father,” which sounds too “formal” (very respectful and polite, but not relaxed or comfortable). Instead…” - READ MORE in the Learning Guide

I recently returned from vacation. On each leg (segment; part) of my trip, I checked (gave to the airline to transport) my luggage. My luggage arrived without any problems and I claimed my bag at the luggage carousel (area where the luggage is placed on a moving belt for people to pick up again).

Most luggage gets to its destination (where someone or something is going) and most luggage is claimed by its owner, but surprisingly, about one-half to one percent (1/2 to 1%) of luggage is never claimed (picked up by its owner). The airlines spend three months trying to get the luggage back to its owner, but if that is not possible because there is no identifying information (such as name, address, or phone number), the luggage is sold to a store called Unclaimed Baggage Center in the state of Alabama, in the southern part of the U.S. (Those who have lost luggage can file a claim and they are compensated for it (given money to replace lost items.)

The Unclaimed Baggage Center buys the unclaimed luggage from airlines sight unseen (without seeing it before buying), sorts it (organizes it), cleans the contents (what is inside) of the luggage, and puts it in the store to sell to the public, to people like you and me.  The Unclaimed Baggage Center is organized similar to a department store that sells everything you can imagine, with the store adding about 7,000 items each day.  The store is so popular that it is the number one tourist attraction in Alabama, with 1 million visitors each year.

At the Center, you can find anything from precious (worth a lot of money) jewelry, leather jackets, wedding dresses, surfboards (long board used for standing on ocean waves) to half-used tubes of toothpaste (though why you would want that is a mystery to me)! The guns and illegal drugs found in some of the luggage are not for sale, of course. However, because they do come across (find; see) unusual items in some of the luggage, the Center has a small museum displaying these special items.

I never knew that this Center existed until I read a Voice of America article recently.  Are there similar types of stores where you live? Have you ever had a particularly unusual or frustrating lost luggage experience?

~ Lucy

Photo Credit:  Suitcase-1 from Wikipedia 

 

In our “What Insiders Know” section of the English Cafe Learning Guide this week, you will read about nicknames for doctors. Nicknames are names we give people or places that are not their real names. In the United States, almost every state also has a nickname, which usually takes the form of “the Something State,” such as “the Golden State” or “the Show-Me State.” These names are often used to advertise the state as a nice place to visit.

The reasons for most state nicknames are pretty straightforward (very simple; very easy to understand). Some are more difficult and obscure (not well known or difficult to discover). All nicknames, however, tell us something about the state, its people, and at times what other people think about that state. I’m going to talk about state nicknames in a series of future blog posts as a way of introducing you to the different customs and characteristics of our 50 states.

I’ll start with the three states I’ve lived in, which are California, Minnesota, and Arizona. California is most popularly known as the Golden State. The name comes from the early history of the state, when gold was discovered here in the mid-19th century. Like a lot of state nicknames, “Golden State” used to appear on our car license plates as a form of advertising for the state. Although the original association of the nickname is with the discovery of gold, some people also link (connect) the name to California’s wealth (money) in the entertainment industry (business) and, more recently, in technology and Internet companies.

My home state, Minnesota, is called the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Land is just another word for area or place. The reason for Minnesota’s nickname is rather obvious if you ever visit there: there are a lot of lakes! (Actually, Minnesota has more than 15,000 lakes, but Minnesotans are very modest (humble; don’t like to brag.) Minnesota is also known as the North Star State, since it is in the northern part of the U.S., and as the Gopher State, since you will find a lot of gophers there. The University of Minnesota uses “Gophers” as the name for its sports teams.

Arizona, where I lived briefly, is known as the Grand Canyon State because – you guessed it – it’s where you’ll find one of the most popular tourist attractions in the U.S., the amazing Grand Canyon.

Not all nicknames are complimentary, however (a nice thing to say about a person or place). Arizona recently passed some laws on immigration, causing some people to call it the “Show Me Your Papers State” (identification or proof of citizenship papers), a play on (a joke from) the more well-known “Show-Me” state nickname for Missouri (we’ll talk about that one later).

Do provinces, regions, or states in your country have special nicknames? If so, what are some of them?

~Jeff

Photo credit: Lake Calhoun by Larry Kanfer, Wikipedia CC