Sometimes ugly is cool — well, not cool, but fun.

That’s the case for the ugly Christmas sweater. It’s not clear how the ugly sweater trend (fashion; what is popular for people to wear) began, but some say that they reached their height in the 1980s.

Christmas sweaters have probably been around since people started making clothing, but over the years, people have become more creative. Some Christmas sweaters have images of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, reindeer, snowmen, and snowflakes. They are adorned (decorated) with ribbons (long, thin color pieces of fabric, often worn in women’s hair), pom poms (small, round balls of soft material), glitter (very small pieces that shine when light hits them), and even electric lights that light up (shine using electricity).

Some people wear their Christmas sweater in earnest (seriously), bringing Christmas cheer (happiness; joy) to the people around them. Others wear them as a joke to show off a particularly ugly or gaudy (too bright or showy, usually showing bad taste) creation.

That’s the idea behind ugly sweater parties. Instead of costumes or formal wear (such as evening gowns and tuxedos), people are asked to attend the party wearing the ugliest Christmas sweater they can find. Prizes (reward for winning a competition) are given out to the best — or worst — ones.

If you’re in the market for (wanting to buy) an ugly sweater, whether to attend an ugly sweater party or simply to enjoy dressing for the holidays, check out some of the ugly sweaters available on the Internet. Maybe you’ll find inspiration at places like this. Remember that I wear a size small.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone celebrating this holiday season. May all of you be happy, healthy, and full of the holiday spirit (feeling)!

– Lucy

Photo Credit: From www.myuglychristmassweater.com

Although it is raining in Los Angeles today, it has been warm this week, as usual. However, the early part of December was cold here, at least by Los Angeles standards (way of measuring). The high temperatures have only been in the 50s (around 10 degrees Celsius) and the lows have been in the upper 30s and low 40s (around 0 degrees Celsius).  Brrrrrr (the sound we make when we’re cold)!

I know what you’re thinking:  Cry me a river!

I know that many of you live in places with much colder winters than the ones we have here in Los Angeles, but the unusually cold temperatures got me thinking about the coldest places in the U.S. A popular weather website, Weather.com, analyzed (studied carefully) the information from the past 30 years taken from the National Climatic Data Center, the largest archive (collection of records from the past) of weather data. Based on this analysis, they named the five coldest cities in the U.S. They are:

5. Caribou, Maine
4. Jackson, Wyoming
3. Gunnison, Colorado
2. International Falls, Minnesota
1. Barrow, Alaska

The lowest temperature recorded in Barrow, Alaska was -56 degrees (-49 degrees Celsius). The average low temperatures in the winter are in the 20s below zero (-29 degrees Celsius) and the average temperature for the entire year is 11 degrees (-11 degrees Celsius).

Needless to say (clearly; obviously), I won’t be planning any trips to Barrow any time soon. I’m known to all of my friends and family members as someone who hates the cold and wears wool (warm material made from the hair of sheep or goat) socks when it falls below 65 degrees (18 degrees Celsius).

Yes, I’m a wimp (weak person) when it comes to the cold. I’m very thankful that my parents chose to raise me in Tucson, Arizona, and not, say (for example), St. Paul, Minnesota. And no, I’ve never had the pleasure (?) of shoveling snow.

What are the coldest places in the country or countries where you’ve lived? Are you a lover of cold weather or are you a freeze baby (a person, usually a girl/woman, who is often cold) like me?

– Lucy

Photo Credit:  Timbleweed snowmen, a desert version of snowmen taken in Tucson, from Wikipedia
I wish I had taken this photo. It certainly reminds me of home.

Storytellers with cameras. That would be one way to describe photojournalists, the people who report the news using photographs rather than words.

In the U.S., no photojournalist has a better view of world events than the official White House photographer. He has unlimited access (the right see someone) to the president – and often to the president’s family – and goes wherever the president goes. His job, according to Pete Souza, President Obama’s official photographer, is to create “a good photographic archive (collection of historical documents)… that will live on” after the president leaves office.

If you ask other White House photographers, they all agree: Yoichi Okamoto, the first official White House photographer, was the best.

Okamoto, who came to be known as “Oke”, was born just outside of New York City in 1915 and served (worked) as an army photographer during World War II. After the war, he worked for the United States Information Agency. Okamoto met Vice President Lyndon Johnson on a trip to Berlin in 1961. According to Okamoto, the vice president liked his work and from then on, Okamoto accompanied (went with) Johnson on all of his foreign trips.

When Johnson became president, he asked Okamoto to take some portraits (paintings or photographs of a person) of him. According to one writer, Okamoto told Johnson, “Rather than just take portraits, I’d like to hang around (wait somewhere) and photograph history being made.” And that’s what he did. Okamoto became President Johnson’s official photographer. He often spent 16 hours a day photographing the president with world leaders, members of congress, friends, and family members.

In a recent interview, David Kennerly, the White House photographer while Gerald Ford was president, says Okamoto had a great subject (the person being photographed) – President Johnson – who had to deal with (make decisions and take action) difficult problems, like the war in Vietnam and civil rights. And “when you look at the pictures [Okamoto took], you just feel like you’re there” because “he thought and he photographed as a storyteller.”

Okamota had a special ability to show the personality of his subjects. In his photographs of President Johnson, you can see the changes in the president’s moods (how he felt) and the ways he interacted with (talked with; worked with) the people around him.

There are more than 250,000 photos of President Johnson – the “greatest album (collection of photographs, usually in a book) of candid (informal) pictures ever made of an American president.” Most of them were made by Yoichi Okamoto.

You can find examples of Okamota’s work online here and here. And there’s also an interesting one-hour-long Public Broadcasting System (PBS) documentary on White House photographers.

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

 Photo used under Creative Commons license.

According to international surveys (questionnaires), including a much cited (referred to by other people) 2004 poll (research where many people are asked the same question(s)) by the Gallup organization, the United States has one of the highest percentages of church attendance (percentage of people going to church) in the world. At about 43%, the figure is much higher than many other so-called (what is called; what is often referred to as) “developed” (industrialized) countries.

While church attendance for some Christian denominations (branches or separate groups of Christians) have held steady (remained the same) over time, some have had steady (continuing) and steep (very sharp or large) declines. To combat (fight; slow or stop) this decline, some churches have tried to lure (attract) churchgoers (people who attend or go to church) in creative ways.

Do you like beer? Would you like to worship (do things to feel closer to and to honor God) at a bar instead of a church? If you do, you’re in luck (fortunate).

Some churches are holding services (performing the rituals and actions normally done in church) in bars and other more informal places, inviting people to enjoy beer as they listen to sermons (talks, usually given by a priest or minister, about religious subjects), sing hymns (religious songs), and even take communion (participate in a religious ritual involving bread and wine).

These services have names such as “Church-in-a Pub” (bar) and “Beer & Hymns,” and tend to attract young people who don’t usually go to church on Sundays. Some church leaders are skeptical (not convinced; have doubts) about these types of services, but others are optimistic (feel encouraged) about the number and types of people choosing to attend.

Is church attendance common where you live? If you don’t go to church but consider yourself religious, would a more relaxed atmosphere like this tempt you (make you want) to attend?

– Lucy

Photo Credit: Edouard Manet from Wikipedia

Happy Thanksgiving! I want to echo (repeat) what Lucy wrote Tuesday and say how thankful I am for all of you who are a part of the great ESL Podcast family.

This year, while many in the U.S. were thinking about slices (a piece of food cut from a larger piece) of Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pie, a small slice (piece) of early American history was sold for millions of dollars.

The Pilgrims – who celebrated the “First Thanksgiving” in America – came from England in 1620. The Puritans, a similar group, followed them in 1630. Both groups were very religious (believed in God) and believed in personal religious freedom and responsibility (doing what is right). They were both dissatisfied with the Church of England, which was the official and only church in England at that time, so they left England and came to America.

Singing was an important part of Puritan worship (praying and singing together to show respect for God). And the Puritans wanted a new translation of the Book of Psalms (songs or poems used in Jewish and Christian worship) to use. Thirty religious leaders translated the psalms from Hebrew, their original language, into English verse (with lines like a song). And in 1640, 1700 copies of the Bay Psalm Book were printed.

Tuesday, one of the original (first or earliest) Bay Psalm Books was sold for more than 14 million dollars, the most anyone has ever paid for a printed book. It was sold to an American businessman and philanthropist (wealthy person who gives money to help other people) who plans to loan it to libraries around the U.S. so many people can see it.

Why would someone pay so much for one of these little books? What is so significant (great or important) about it? There are several answers. First, it was the first book printed in America. And it’s rare – only eleven copies have survived (continue to exist).

David Redden, who organized the sale, says the Bay Psalm Book is significant for another reason. He says it reminds us how independent (not controlled by someone else) the early colonists were. They left their homes in England, came to America, set up (organized) their own society (organized group of people) with their own religious practices, and later – in 1776 – declared (stated) their independence from England and created a new country.

The Bay Psalm Book was sold by the Old South Church in Boston to help pay the church’s expenses. The church owned two copies of the Psalm Book, so members of the church decided it would be okay to sell one of them.

Old South played an important part in (influenced, had an effect on) American history. Benjamin Franklin’s family were members of the church. And so was Samuel Adams. Both men were important early American leaders. Many of the early leaders met at the church to plan activities, like the Boston Tea Party, that helped America become independent.

~ Warren Ediger – ESL tutor/coach and creator of the Successful English web site.

Photo of the Bay Psalm Book courtesy of the BBC