From time to time, ESL Podcast blog readers have asked where I find my ideas. The answer is really quite simple: every day, as I scan (look quickly at) the articles that come to my computer, I look for article topics that interest me and that I think I can make interesting to you, the readers. If you’re a regular (someone who does something often) here on the blog, you know that I’m interested in the arts, music, and people.

A few days ago I saw an article title – The Art of Listening – that stopped me. I wondered if it might be something I could use in my teaching and writing. Listening, of course (certainly, obviously), is how we get most of our spoken fluency (and that’s why the ESL Podcast is such a great gift to English learners).

The article, however, went in a totally different direction (it was about something different). The writer, a Western artist working in Mozambique, built (based) the article on a modern African parable (a story that teaches a lesson). In the article he tells how he, and others, had taken a break (stopped to rest) from a rehearsal (practice) for a theater performance. He writes:

It was a hot day, and we were taking a break from rehearsals so we fled (ran) outside, hoping that a cool breeze would drift (move slowly) past. The theater’s air-conditioning system had long since stopped functioning (working). It must have been over 100 degrees (F., about 38 C.) inside while we were working.

He writes that two old African men made room for him on the stone bench they were sitting on. As the writer sat next to them, he listened as they talked about a third old man who had died recently.

“I was visiting him at his home,” one of the men said, “and he began to tell me an amazing story about something that happened to him when he was young. But it was a long story. Night came, and we decided that I should come back the next day to hear the rest. But when I arrived, he was dead.”

The writer needed to return to his rehearsal, but didn’t want to leave the bench. He wanted to hear how the other man would respond (reply). He writes, “I had an instinctive (not conscious) feeling that it would prove to be important.”

Finally the second old man spoke. “That’s not a good way to die – before you’ve told the end of the story.”

The writer goes on to say that he thinks that we could call our species (all people as a group) “homo narrans” – the story-telling person – rather than “homo sapiens” – which in Latin means “wise man.” “What differentiates us (makes us different) from animals,” he writes, “is the fact that we can listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires, and defeats – and they in turn can listen to ours.”

In the Christmas story I grew up with, angels sing a song of desire, hope, and even promise. The great German composer George F. Handel translates it this way in his work The Messiah: “…peace on earth, good will* towards men.”

I often think that if we listened more than we talked, if we were more interested in hearing the other person’s story than telling ours, that song might some day come true.

If I may (if it’s okay) – since I am one who celebrates Christmas – I’d like wish you a merry Christmas. And if you don’t celebrate Christmas, my family and I hope that this holiday time at the end of the year will be a very special time for you and your family.

*Synonyms for good will include words like compassion, goodness, kindness, thoughtfulness, understanding, and neighborliness.

~ Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English, where English learners can find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo by bigdmia is used under Creative Commons license.

If you know Charlie Brown, you know “Good grief!” Charlie Brown was the main character – a little boy that never grew up (got older) – in the Peanuts comic strip (picture stories that appear in newspapers). Even if you didn’t see the comic strips in a newspaper, you might have seen the Peanuts comic books, television programs, or movies.

When Charlie Brown said, “Good grief!” he was using it as an exclamation, a sound, word, or short sentence that you say suddenly, and sometimes loudly, because you are surprised, angry, or excited. Charlie usually said it because he was both surprised and annoyed (a little angry).

Some people might call “good grief” an oxymoron. An oxymoron is a combination of two words that seem to mean the opposite of each other. Here are some examples I found online: seriously funny, pretty ugly, old news, and Microsoft Works. Some say “intelligent blonde” (a person with pale yellow hair) is an oxymoron, but I might disagree: I married one!

The reason some people might call “good grief” an oxymoron is because grief is the extreme sadness we feel when someone we love has died. Not many people would call that good.

My brother, sisters, and I felt a lot of grief when our mom passed away (died). It was a difficult time, but we discovered that remembering and telling stories about Mom helped reduce (make less) our grief. Mom was a hard-working, warm (friendly and relaxed), loving, funny, and creative woman. And many of the stories we told were about her humor (ability to think that things are funny) and creativity. Let me tell you a few.

When I was young, Dad didn’t receive a large salary (monthly payment from work). As a result, we often had to scrimp (save as much money as you can). One Christmas, Mom didn’t want to spend money on a Christmas tree, so she found a tumbleweed, which was easy where we lived. A tumbleweed is a round weed (undesirable plant) that grows quickly, dies quickly, and after it dies, tumbles (rolls in an uncontrolled way) across the ground wherever the wind blows. She brought the tumbleweed into the house, flocked it (covered it with a white powder) and turned it into a Christmas tree. No one had a Christmas tree like ours that year!

My second story comes from a photo we found of a snowman sitting in a chair at a snow-covered table on Mom’s deck (wooden floor behind the house). He was wearing a cap and enjoying a plate of peppernuts (I wrote about these in The Wanderers) – one of our favorite Christmas treats. What’s interesting about this is she did it for her own enjoyment. It doesn’t get very cold where she lived, and I’m sure that this scene disappeared a short time after she took the picture when the sun came out and melted the snow. She didn’t care! She was just enjoying herself in a creative way. And I imagine she probably chuckled (laughed quietly) to herself while she did it.

Finally, the story of the bear in the picture at the top of the page. Several years ago Mom called to say that she had been cleaning out the closets (small room where clothes are stored). She said she had found some things of mine and had sent them to me in a box. She told me that I could keep them or throw them away, whichever I wanted to do. When the box came, I opened it and found a quilted, stuffed bear wearing my first pair of overalls (pants held up by cloth straps that go over your shoulders). A quilt is a blanket made from pieces of cloth. The pieces of cloth Mom used to make this quilt had come from shirts and dresses she had made for us when we were young. One of the pieces even came from the dress she wore to the hospital when I was born! I discovered later that she had made five of these bears, one for each of us children.

Good grief! Not fun, certainly, but good for us because it gave my brother, sisters, and me a reason and opportunity to remember a wonderful woman and mother.

~ Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English, where you can find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

Photo by W. Ediger.

Yesterday, I offered a little ditty to help us all get through Monday. Today, I have a little joke for you.  If we get past Monday and Tuesday, then we should be able to get past hump day, right?  Hump day is what we informally call Wednesday.  A hump is a round area that is higher than the area around it.  If you encounter (meet) a hump in a road, you’ll need a little extra gas to get over it.  (A hump is also what’s on the back of some animals, like camels (see photo).)  If we can get past Wednesday, the hump, than the rest of the week will be a cinch (something easy to do).

Here’s a little language joke, which also helps to explain why Cody was looking for Jeff and how he knew about ESL Podcast.
…

There was a mother mouse who was scurrying (running quickly) across the kitchen floor with her six little mice in tow (following).  All of a sudden (suddenly), she came eye-to-eye with a very large and very mean-looking cat.  Mother mouse was terrified (very afraid)!  But she pulled herself up to full height (stood up as tall as she could) and said at the top of her lungs (as loudly as possible), “Bow Wow!”

The cat nearly jumped out of his skin (was very shocked, very scared) and in the blink of an eye (immediately; very quickly) ran up a tree two blocks away.  Meanwhile, mother mouse gathered her little ones around her and explained, “Now, my dears, you see what I’ve always told you about the importance of learning a second language!”

* “Bow wow” or “woof woof” is the way we represent in English the sounds a dog makes when “speaking.”  Of course, it’s different in every language.
…
I wish you a good and easy Tuesday!

~ Lucy

I was born in what we sometimes refer to in English as the sixties, that is, the 1960s. I went to grade (elementary) school and high school in the seventies, went to college in the eighties, and worked and went back to college in the nineties.  All that is easy to explain.  But what do Americans call the next decade (ten years), from 2000 to 2009, that ends today?  How do I say, for example, I began working on a podcast during this time period?

This question was often asked ten years ago, in 1999, and various words were suggested then.  One idea was to call this decade the “aughts,” since aught is a British English term for zero.  But Americans almost never use this word, and it did not catch on (become popular).  Other solutions include “the two thousands,” “the double ohs” (oh means zero), and “the double zeros.”  Again, none of these became popular.  The truth is that, at least in the United States, there is no commonly accepted term to refer to the decade that ends today.

In Britain, where “aught” is actually used as a word for zero, the term “noughties” has become popular to describe this decade.  “Noughties” sounds like “naughty,” which is a word you might use with a young child to describe something bad or wrong (for an adult, it is also an informal, somewhat humorous term for something that is related to sex).  No doubt (probably) the British think they are being rather clever (smart) in choosing that term.  But Americans have not adopted it.  Right now people just avoid referring to this decade with a single name.

Another solution would be to see what we called the last “00″ decade, 1900-1909.  Unfortunately, Americans one hundred years ago had the same problem we have today, and they never really came up with (invented) a good term!   And what about previous centuries – say, 1800-1809 or 1500-1509?  Apparently, it was not common to use a single term to refer to a decade before the 19th century, so the question never came up (was never asked).

I therefore propose we call the years 2000 to 2009 “the Whatchamacallit Decade.”  Whatchamacallit is an very informal term we use for something that we can’t think of or don’t know the name of.  It probably comes from the expression “what you may call it,” and is sometimes used humorously (as a joke).  You might say, “Give me that whatchamacallit sitting on the table there” to refer to something on the table.  It can be used with any object.  Since we don’t really know what to call this decade, whatchamacallit seems as good a choice as any (as good as any other choice).

There! I’ve solved the problem of the decade – you know, the Whatchamacallit Decade.  (You’re welcome, America.)

May you and everyone you know have a happy and peaceful New Year!

~Jeff

You probably already know about the H1N1 virus, also called the swine flu virus. The word swine refers to pigs, which scientists believe are the origin of this particular influenza or flu virus. Although pharmaceutical (drug-making) companies have developed a vaccine (a drug you take to prevent you from getting or catching a disease), there have not been enough vaccines produced for everyone to get one. This is a serious problem in most countries, especially here in the United States, where the government projected (predicted) that 120 million vaccines would be available by this month. In fact, less than 50 million vaccines have been administered (given) to children and adults in the United States this year.

I went to my doctor’s office two weeks ago and no vaccines were available. In fact, my doctor was also out of (did not have) the seasonal flu vaccine. Each year, scientists produce a vaccine specific to the kind of virus that is most common for that flu season (period of time when something happens). This is separate from the swine flu virus, and is usually called the seasonal flu vaccine. I’m still waiting to get both the seasonal and swine flu vaccines, but I am not very optimistic (hopeful) that I will get it before the end of the flu season.

Today I read in The Wall Street Journal about a new problem related to the swine flu: the necktie that your doctor wears (that is, if your doctor is a man). Some studies have indicated that these ties are in fact dangerous to patients (people who go to see the doctor or who are sick) because they can actually carry germs and viruses. When the doctor leans close (moves close to, moves toward) to your face with a tie on, you have a greater chance of catching (getting) these germs and viruses.

Why is the necktie a particular problem? The reason is simple: Men rarely wash or clean their ties, unlike their shirts and pants and other clothing. For this reason, some hospitals have recommended that male doctors stop wearing ties. Many doctors, however, believe that the threat (danger) of neckties carrying germs and viruses is exaggerated (considered greater than it really is). Some have even suggested that younger doctors who don’t want to dress more formally are using this new finding (discovery) as an excuse to dress more casually (informally) at hospitals and clinics.

A real problem, I suppose, is the following situation: You go to see your doctor to get a swine flu vaccine, and the doctor is wearing a tie. What do you do? You could get both the vaccine and the swine flu all at the same time!

~Jeff

P.S. I’m joking in this last paragraph, of course.  If the vaccine is available to you, you should definitely get it – or send it to me.

Americans love to rank (to put in order) almost everything, as if it were some sort of competition.  We have awards for almost everything nowadays, and nearly every day the newspaper has a list of the best or worst of one thing or another.  The latest ranking is from the American College of Sports Medicine, which has an American Fitness Index.  Fitness refers to how physically healthy you are, usually related to how much you do physical exercise (run, jog, play sports, surf the Internet (okay, not that last one!)).  An index is a measurement of something.  The American Fitness Index looks at several factors (things, topics) to determine which US city is the “healthiest.”  These include:

• Availability of parks, walking and bike trails (paths, places where you can walk and ride a bike), and public transportation (busses, subways, etc.);
• Percentage of people who exercise regularly, maintain a healthy weight (are not too fat or too thin), and eat the recommended amounts of vegetables and fruits each day;
• Percentage of people who have access to (are able to use regularly) health care and have health insurance (remember that the US currently has no “national” health care service – most people have to buy their own insurance or get it through their employer);
• Percentage of people who do not smoke.

So which cities are healthiest?   Number one is our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., which surprised me a little, although Washington has lots of places to walk and ride bikes, has an excellent public transportation system, and has many people who work for the federal (national) government and therefore have health insurance.  Second was the place where I was born and raised (grew up), the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, in Minnesota.  Here is a list of some of the other top cities:

• Denver, Colorado
• Boston, Massachusetts
• San Francisco, California
• Seattle, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• San Diego, California
• Austin, Texas
• Virginia Beach, Virginia
• Hartford, Connecticut
• Sacramento, California
• San Jose, California
• Cincinnati, Ohio
• Atlanta, Georgia

Notice the several are in California, but not Los Angeles.  I guess if I want to be healthier, I should move back to Minnesota!

~Jeff