But what if you were stranded on a desert island and given the chance to have one companion, someone to keep you company (give you friendship or companionship)?  This person cannot be a relative or even someone you know personally, such as your spouse (husband/wife), boyfriend/girlfriend, or best friend.  It must be a historical figure (someone famous from the past) or a character from books, movies, or TV shows.

Of course, those of you who are practical-minded (thinking of and doing the most useful things) may immediately think of someone like MacGyver, or someone else who is extremely resourceful (able to do a lot with only a little), to help you on the island. This person would certainly be helpful as a companion, so let’s assume he’s already on the island with you.

The question is:  If you were picking someone else to be on your desert island, who would you pick?

You might be interested to know that when I asked Jeff this question, first he said he might pick someone like Socrates or Albert Einstein.  And then, he thought for a minute and asked me, “Is my wife dead?” so we know where his mind was going…and of course, we don’t blame him (say that he did something wrong)!

I’m still trying to decide. I think I would pick someone who is a great storyteller to help me pass the time.

Who would you pick and why?

~ Lucy

Last week

1.  Hold up a mirror.  To hold up a mirror means to put a mirror in your hands to see what you look like.  This is exactly what Americans like to see in their sitcoms — themselves!  Luntz says that people want “shows and characters they can personally relate to,” meaning programs and people that they can feel connected to.  This may mean people of the same race or geography, or perhaps even the kinds of jobs they have.  But more generally, I think it means that the situations that are part of the show have to be situations that many of us are familiar with.  (Remember, we’re talking about comedy shows, not dramas.  One of the most popular kinds of drama shows involves police officers and lawyers, things with which, I hope, most of us are not very familiar.)

2.  Connect the dots. The expression to connect the dots means that you have to see the connection between things that may seem otherwise unrelated.  For Americans, apparently they want the television show itself to connect the dots, meaning that they want the relationship between different events to be very obvious.  For example, Americans sometimes don’t watch every episode or show of a television program each week, but they want to be able to come back to the show later and still be able to understand what is happening in the story.  It can’t be too confusing for them — I mean, for us! — such that we don’t have to have seen the previous shows to understand the one we’re watching now.

3.  Relationships involving conflict. Nowadays, Americans no longer want sweet, innocent comedy.  That is, they don’t necessarily want comedies where everything is nice and everyone gets along with everyone else.  Instead, they want conflict (disagreement) among the characters.  They want what we would call an edge, something that is a little dark (sad or tragic) but still lovable (something you can like or appreciate).  A good example of this would be the popular television show The Simpsons.

4.  Home is where comedy lives. Americans like comedies about people in their homes rather than their office.  (This is not always true, since one of the most popular comedies on television nowadays is a show called The Office, but perhaps Luntz does not consider this a sitcom.)

5.  Go live. There are very few comedies that are live — that is, when what you are watching on television is actually taking place at the same time in the television studio.  I’m not quite sure why Luntz included this in the list, since he could name only one show that has recently done this.  Even most talk shows (interview shows) are “taped” or recorded rather than live.

I think these observations are generally true, although I don’t watch very many sitcoms anymore, and the ones that I have seen I think are pretty awful, so perhaps I am not the best judge.

~Jeff

According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, only about 30% of movies are now filmed (made) in California, down from (decreasing from) more than 60% just five years ago.  Only 57% of all TV shows’ first episodes (called pilots) are filmed in Los Angeles, down from more than 80% in 2004.

So why is everyone leaving?  The reason is simple: Other cities and states are giving filmmakers incentives to film in their locations.  Incentives are things you are given to motivate you to want to do something.  These incentives are mostly financial (related to money), including lower taxes and fees for filming.  Los Angeles, however, doesn’t have any organized program of incentives, and has therefore been losing jobs to other cities and states, such as New York, Connecticut, and elsewhere (other places).

Los Angeles is trying to create its own incentive plan to keep the studios from moving their business to other states.  But some think it may be too late.  Soon, instead of actors dreaming of coming to Los Angeles, perhaps they’ll flock (go in large numbers) to Vancouver, Hartford, and Dallas instead.

~Jeff

Guilty pleasures

In terms of food, one of my guilty pleasures is cake.  Other people like ice cream, chocolate, or candy.  I like cake–not the fancy kind at fancy bakeries, though I don’t mind those either.  I am perfectly happy with a plain white (vanilla) cake with frosting (a layer of sweet icing used to decorate the top and sides of cakes).  Chocolate cake is fine, too, but I don’t need fancy fruit, cream, or other fillings (food put inside of other food).  My favorite part of birthday parties, mine and other people’s, is having cake.  It’s something that I can never turn down (refuse), and I give in to (allow myself to do something I shouldn’t) my cravings (the wanting something very badly) all too often.

In terms of movies, I have a lot of guilty pleasures.  My guilty pleasures fall into two categories:
1) movies that I can watch over and over again (no, I won’t admit how many times I’ve seen them), and
2) bad movies that I enjoy.

Movies like “The Fugitive,” “Shawshank Redemption,” and “Roman Holiday” are ones I can watch time and time again (many times).  I usually catch them on lazy weekend afternoons, surfing the channels (using the remote control to move quickly through many TV channels).

Then, there are the bad movies.  There was a movie I saw on television when I was young called “Sooner or Later” about a teenage girl who falls for a handsome 17-year-old guy.  He is (of course!) the leader of a rock band, and she lies to him about her age so he’ll be interested in her.  Okay, everything about this movie is cheesy (embarrassingly bad and of poor quality)–the acting, the script, the music, the premise (basic idea).  Still, I can’t help enjoying myself when I watch the film now.  I’m sure it’s nostalgia (warm feelings for the past), but I’m not joking when I say it’s bad.

All right, now that I’ve confessed (admitted to something I’m not proud of or to something bad I’ve done) some of my guilty pleasures, will you confess some of yours?

~ Lucy

A popular song in the early part of the 20th century was written by a famous American composer, George M. Cohan, called “The Yankee Doodle Boy.”  It was written for a Broadway musical (a play with lots of singing and music and dancing in it) called Little Johnny Jones. It opened (had its first show) in November of 1904.  The song became popular, however, in 1942 when there was a movie made about Cohan’s life called Yankee Doodle Dandy. Cohan was an actor, singer, songwriter, and producer, who was sometimes called the “man who owns Broadway.” (Broadway is the famous street in New York City where there are many famous theaters that have musical shows.)

Cohan was an Irish-American who wrote many plays and songs, and even starred in Hollywood movies. In the movie about his life, a fellow Irish-American actor named James Cagney played the part of (acted as the character of) Cohan. Several of Cohan’s famous songs can be heard in the movie, including “Give My Regards to Broadway,” “Your Grand Old Flag,” and “Over There.”

The song “The Yankee Doodle Boy” was in part about Cohan himself.  He was (according to his parents, but not his birth certificate (the official document the government creates when you are born)) born on America’s Independence Day, July 4th.  The lyrics (words) of the song refer to another song, “Yankee Doodle,” from the time of the American Revolution of the late 18th century.  A doodle was a foolish or stupid person, and Yankee (in the Revolutionary War) referred to the American colonists fighting for their independence from the British.  So a “Yankee Doodle” meant a stupid American, but because the Americans were smart enough to win the war, the song is often sung with pride.

Here are the words to “The Yankee Doodle Boy”:

I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy
A Yankee Doodle, do or die
A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam
Born on the Fourth of July

I’ve got a Yankee Doodle sweetheart
She’s my Yankee Doodle joy
Yankee Doodle came to London
Just to ride the ponies
I am the Yankee Doodle Boy

dandy = man who paid a lot (too much, usually) attention to his looks, his clothes, and/or his appearance.
do or die = no matter what, regardless of what happens, even if I die
a real live = used for emphasis to mean truly or honestly or actually
nephew = your father’s brother is your uncle, and you are your uncle’s nephew
Uncle Sam= traditionally represented the United States (with the same initials “US”), usually an old man with a long white beard and a red, white, and blue hat on
sweetheart = your romantic love
ponies = small horses, which children sometimes ride for fun

You can see a video of James Cagney singing and dancing in the movie here.

I remember my father singing this song when I was a child, and he had good reason to do so: He really was born on the 4th of July, back in 1923.  Here’s to all the other Yankee Doodle Dandies out there!

~Jeff

Personally, I have a very hard time seeing a screen adaptation after I’ve read a book.  In fact, I usually avoid it.  There are two main reasons.  First, the film version has no choice but to leave out parts of the book because of time constraints (not having enough time) and this, to me, changes the nature or scope (range) of the story.  Second, seeing a screen adaptation results in me replacing the images (pictures) I’ve formed in my mind about the book with those on the screen.  This is especially troublesome (a problem) when the ways I picture the main characters don’t match those in the film, and the film images replace those I’ve created in my own mind.  I can’t resist it.  It happens every time, and for me, that’s a sad thing.

This happened with one of my favorite novels, I Claudius, by Robert Graves.  This is a historical novel (story about real people in history) about the first Roman emperors (rulers).  In the 1970s, the BBC produced a miniseries (show with several parts) based on this novel, which many people had told me was excellent.  I finally rented the miniseries, but I couldn’t get the through the first episode.  The main character, played by an outstanding British actor, was completely different from how I had imagined him to be, and I couldn’t get past that (forget about it and move on).  Now, when I re-read the book, I can only see that actor, not the character I had created in my mind as I read the book the first time.  Another of my favorite books, Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty, another historical novel, this time about the American west, has also been made into a miniseries.  Although this, too, received excellent reviews, I can’t bring myself (convince myself; force myself) to see it. I know that this is my loss, and I’m missing out on some very good films.

Are you like me?  Do you also have this problem?  Or, can you separate the book and the film, and not be influenced by the other?

~ Lucy

In one section of the book, Dutton talks about research done by another writer, Christopher Booker, on the kinds of plots (story structures) that are found in the spoken and written stories of almost every language around the world.  Booker identifies seven “basic plots” that every story uses in one way or another.  Again, I’m not sure if this is true, but you may be interested in them.  Many stories may combine different kinds of plots as well:

• Overcoming the Monster – To overcome means to defeat, to win over.  A monster is a bad creature (person or animal).  This is a story about defeating an evil person or thing.
• Rags to Riches – Rags are dirty pieces of clothing; riches refers to lots of money.  This is a common expression in English, to go from “rags to riches,” especially to describe someone who works hard and becomes successful after being poor.  This is a story about someone going from being very poor to being very rich.
• Quest – A quest is when you search for something for a long time, usually something very important or very valuable.  Typically a quest story has a hero with others that help him in his search, and he must overcome some danger or evil in order to get his prize.  The hero gets the prize and a beautiful woman, and they often become King and Queen.
• Voyage and Return – A voyage is a long trip. In this kind of story, the protagonist (main character) leaves “normal experience” and goes into an alien or strange world, then returns after escaping some danger in the new world.  (The famous English children’s story Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is an example of this.)
• Comedy – A rather broad (large) category, this kind of story often has some confusion until the end of the story, when the hero and his lover are united.
• Tragedy – A tragedy is a very sad event or situation.  Tragic stories are usually about how someone overreaches (tries to do too much or more than he or she should) and this leads to terrible consequences (results).
• Rebirth – A rebirth is when someone is reborn – born again.  This kind of story has the protagonist going through some dramatic change during the story, so that by the end of it he or she is essentially a new character.

Booker later added two more plot types:

• Rebellion – A rebellion is when people try to overthrow (defeat, bring down) their government.  George Orwell’s 1984 would be an example of this kind of story.
• Mystery – A mystery involves some crime or unusual event that the protagonist tries to figure out or solve.  The protagonist is usually called a detective, and may be a police officer (but not always).

So there you have all the possible plots in the world – at least, according to Mr. Booker!

~Jeff

Even for those of us who watch reality shows, it seems that TV producers (makers of programs) are getting more and more desperate (wanting something very, very much and willing to do anything for it) and outrageous (shockingly bad) with show ideas.  Then again, maybe I’m just old-fashioned and these shows aren’t over the top (gone too far).

Here are a few reality shows that are considered to be among the very worst ever on American television. Which do you think is the worst?  Are there others–past or present–that you think are worse than these?

~ Lucy

……..

1. Who’s Your Daddy?

A young woman who gave up a child for adoption (for someone else to legally raise as their own child) tries to pick the long-lost (has not seen for a long time) biological (by blood) father of that child. She has to pick from a group that includes several impostors (a person who pretends to be something he/she is not). If she guesses correctly, she wins $100,000.
……..

2. The Will

A very wealthy rancher (person who owns a large farm) and land developer (builder) puts his large ranch estate (house, land, and valuables) up for grabs (as a prize). His friends and members of his family competed.  The winner was put in the man’s will (a document that tells others what you want to do with your belongings after you die) and will get the estate when he dies.
……..

3. Temptation Island

Four unmarried couples travel to an island. They are given many temptations (desire to do something wrong) to lure them (try to get someone to do something) from their relationships. Each person spends time alone with members of the other couples in tempting situations, such as being in a hot tub (a small pool with hot water and bubbles) or in a bedroom together.
……..

4. Armed and Famous

Armed and Famous puts famous celebrities on the streets as cops (police officers) in a small town in Indiana, in the Midwestern part of the U.S. The celebrities are trained to be police officers. They then go along with their training officers to patrol (watch over) the streets.  You see how the celebrities handle their training and how they operate as police officers.
……..

[Poll=6]

Many times in the past, actors from other countries have won acting Oscars, but this year, for the first time in more than 40 years, all of the top acting prizes – Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress – were won by non-Americans.

Best Actor was given to an Irish actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, for the movie There Will Be Blood. Best Actress went to the young French actor, Marion Cotillard, for the movie La Vie en Rose. Best Supporting Actor went to the Spaniard, Javier Bardem, for the movie No Country for Old Men. Best Supporting Actress went to a British actress, Tilda Swinton, for her work in the movie Michael Clayton.

Movies are an international art form, so although Hollywood makes many of the most popular movies, I think it is a good thing that we recognize the great acting talents from all countries.

The Best Picture award went to No Country for Old Men, which was made by two people from my home state, Minnesota! So I guess Hollywood was the loser this year.

~Jeff

In general, dramas are easier to understand than action movies or comedies, but of course, many things can make movies more or less comprehensible. Stay away from movies with too much slang, of course, and period movies (a movie set in the past) that have old-fashioned (not modern) speech. How much you know about the topic of the movie–your background knowledge–also helps to make a movie more or less comprehensible.

You are the best people to ask for movie recommendations: our terrific listeners! If you have seen a movie in English that is enjoyable and easy to understand, please post a comment and let us and our other listeners know about it.

~ Lucy