The English Blog

The Governator's Secret Message

The Daily Telegraph reports that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Republican Governor of California, has been accused of sending an obscene coded message to a political opponent who called him a liar.

Here's the letter in question (click on image to enlarge).

Can you see what all the fuss is about? Click here for the answer. Read the Telegraph article here.

COMMENT
The question is: Was the message intentional? My feeling is that it's too much of a coincidence not to have been (apparently the chances are over 8 billion to one).

Cartoon: The Cow That Farted

This cartoon by Steve Bell in The Guardian relates to the story about meat eating and climate change. Actually, it seems like the story is just an excuse for the cartoonist to use an old joke to create a surreal and funny image. The cartoon shows Queen Victoria at a banquet surrounded by assorted aristocrats. A cow is seated opposite her. The man sitting next to the queen (Prince Albert?), says to the owner of the cow, "Dammit, man! Your cow just farted in front of Her Majesty!!" The latter replies, "I'm sorry! I had no idea it was her turn!"

EXPLANATION
The original version of the joke goes something like this:

Outraged host: "Dammit man, you've just farted in front of my wife."
Defaulting guest: "I do apologise, my dear fellow, I didn't realise it was her turn."

The joke hinges on the double meaning of "in front of", which can mean "in the presence of" or "before in time". The host means the former, while the guest takes it as meaning the latter.

VOCABULARY
1. Dammit is another way of writing Damn it—an impolite expression of annoyance.
2. Fart is a rude/impolite/informal word which describes the action of passing (or breaking) wind (aka flatulence). Fart is also a noun. As one might expect, there are a lot of jokes about farts and farting!

FOOTNOTE
This (probably apocryphal) story about Queen Elizabeth I provides an interesting footnote to the cartoon.

Video: Go Vegetarian, Save The Planet

According to a leading authority on global warming, going vegetarian would have a positive impact on climate change. ITN's Rags Martel reports.

COMMENT
I've been having problems with the new CNN video embedding system. Please let me know if you are unable to view this video. If so, here's a direct link.

LESSON IDEA
Lord Stern's proposal has created a lot of debate in the press. Get your students to research the arguments for and against eating meat and hold a debate with the motion "This house believes that people should give up eating meat to halt climate change."

Words in the News: Seek

Iraq is seeking approval to rebuild at least one of the nuclear reactors bombed at the start of the first Gulf war, according to The Guardian. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
When someone seeks something, they try to obtain it. • African nations are seeking broader access to developed markets.

CNN Student News: Wednesday 28 October

Here is the CNN Student News for Wednesday 26 October. Click on the links to see a transcript.

• Consider the arguments for and against a proposed energy bill 
• Learn about some alternative methods of producing flu vaccines 
• Visit a school that offers students a chance to major in hip-hop

Daily Discussion

Economist Videographic: Luxury Goods

This videographic about luxury goods from Economist.com would be good for teaching the language of trends. You can view (and download) more videographics here.

Video: Pub Lunch For Primary School Kids

Jamie Oliver’s school dinners revolution is difficult for Stoke Bruerne Primary in Towcester, with no canteen. So the headmaster enlisted the help of the village local - and at lunch, all 39 pupils head down to the pub. Sky's Paul Brennan reports.

COMMENT
A good example of a business diversifying in order to survive the downturn.

Cartoon: Mister Europe Contest

This cartoon by Andy Davey from the Sun refers to Tony Blair's candidacy to become the first president of the European Union. Blair is portrayed as a bodybuilder taking part in a 'Mister Europe Contest'. He stands centre stage, his body bulging with muscles, while the other, less physically fit candidates stand waiting in the wings. Three of the judges (from left to right, David Miliband, José Luis Zapatero, and Nicolas Sarkozy ) are enthusiastic and give Blair good scores. Angela Merkel, however, gives him a zero. At Blair's feet we can see a tin of 'Megalomaniac Powder for Extra Bulk'. The auditorium is virtually empty (one spectator is running out the door)—a comment on the level of public interest in EU affairs!

COMMENTARY
Opinions are divided as to whether Blair should become EU president. Much of the British press is hostile (see today's Daily Mail and Steve Bell's Guardian cartoon), while the British government is backing Blair. Blair himself is said to be reluctant to campaign openly, which may damage his chances.

Words in the News: Give Up

The Times reports that a leading expert on climate change has urged people to become vegetarian in order to prevent global warming. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
If you give up something, you stop doing it or having it. • “Giving up smoking is easy,” Mark Twain said. “I've done it hundreds of times.”

CNN Student News: Tuesday 27 October

Here is the CNN Student News for Tuesday 27 October. Click on the links to see a transcript.

• Consider U.S. efforts to offer Afghan citizens an alternative to the Taliban
• Hear how a proposed health care bill addresses the issue of the public option 
• Meet a soldier who is making history at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School

Daily Discussion

Twitterature: Tweeting the Classics

From Telegraph.co.uk:

Two US students have condensed the plot lines of some of the world's greatest books in to 140-character Twitter messages.

The compendium of tweets will be published next month by Penguin. Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books Retold Through Twitter, is written by Emmett Rensin, an English and philosophy student at the University of Chicago, and his university friend Alexander Aciman, who is studying comparative literature.

Dante's Inferno is boiled down to: "I'm having a midlife crisis. Lost in the woods. Should a bought my iPhone."

Sophocles' Oedipus the King is shortened to: "PARTY IN THEBES!!! Nobody cares I killed that old dude, plus this woman is all over me."

The books also covers Homer's The Odyssey, and the work of Milton, Kafka and Shakespeare. Full story >>

COMMENTS
An obvious idea for a game would be identifying the books from their Twitter versions. Actually, I already blogged about this story back in June.

Video: Windows 7 Whopper

No, it's got nothing to do with the advertising hype for Microsoft's new operating system (a 'whopper' is a big lie)—this story concerns a joint promotion between Microsoft and Burger King to mark the Japanese launch of Windows 7.

COMMENT
Do you think the reporter really ate the burger? Read the article below to find out.

ARTICLE
• Whopper promotion a struggle to swallow (CNN)

Words in the News: Carnage

Carnage in the centre of Baghdad, as twin suicide bombings leave hundreds dead and injured, is the Metro's lead story. Full story >>

VOCABULARY
Carnage is the violent killing of large numbers of people, especially in a war. • Devastating twin car bombings wreaked carnage in the heart of Baghdad yesterday.

CNN Student News: Monday 26 October

Here is the CNN Student News for Monday 26 October. Click on the links to see a transcript.

• Learn how declaring a national emergency can help fight the H1N1 virus
• Hear about firefighting efforts in Puerto Rico in our headlines recap
• Find out why one mud farmer's dirty fingerprints are all over baseball

Daily Discussion

Strictly Ungrammatical

The News of the World reports that Alesha Dixon, one of the judges on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing show, has come under fire for her ungrammatical use of English:

Complaints have flooded the BBC website over the way she uses the word "was" instead of "were".

Alesha, 31, will say to contestants: "I liked how strong you was" or "Was you smelling her hair?"

One viewer wrote on the Strictly web forum: "It makes me cringe to hear her speak." Another added: "You can speak with an accent, but speak correct English." A third added: "In my household every 'was' is greeted with a chorus of exasperated WEREs!!!

"Maybe Alesha would tell us that we is being well pedantic."

Ironically, others wrote misspelt, poorly punctuated messages, including: "I was really upset with Aleshas grammar" and "the grammer issues are adding to her difficulties". Full story >>

HEAR ALESHA SPEAK

COMMENTS
I can't say I noticed any grammatical errors in that clip. Alesha was was born and went to school in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, but the way she speaks is more typical of 'Estuary English'.