listen/download (mp3) | duration: 13:00 | file size: 8.93mb | podcast page

Hey, it’s show number 75, and here’s what you’ll hear:

• What hiking gear should you bring and NOT bring?
• A discussion from the top of 1,928m Mt. Hachibuse.
• Language lesson: accepting an apology, expressing forgiveness
• music by Martin Chenhall
• full transcript (below)

SEGMENT: INTRO

An early, early, early start. My friends and I. A beautiful spring day. The mountain. Smelly socks. An mp3 player/recorder. What connects them all? What connects them all?The English Teacher John Show of course, number 75.

[intro music]

Welcome everyone to the English Teacher John Show. I’m John Koons and I produce and host this English learning podcast right here in Matsumoto, Japan. In today’s short episode, you will join us at the top of Mt. Hachibuse, which is a small mountain close to Matsumoto. It’s 1,928 meters high, and recently, my friends and I hiked up to the top. It’s about a 2-1/2 to 3 hour hike and up at the top the view is spectacular, wonderful. You can see the full Northern range of the Japanese Alps, and you can also see snowy peaks in the Central and Southern Japanese Alps as well. On most days you can see Mt. Fuji. On our hiking day, we could just barely make out Fuji-san through the haze.

In today’s show, we talk about hiking gear in the first segment. You’ll hear my friends Charlie, Yasuko, Thomas and Sean. Sean is a couch surfer who we all just met. You can find out more about that at couchsurfing.org, and their slogan is “Participate in Creating a Better World, One Couch At A Time.” After that, the second segment is a language segment. You’ll learn about the English to use when accepting apologies, or forgiving.

Alright … here we go!

[gong]

I apologize for some of the wind noise that you hear at the top of the mountain in our discussion. Even English Teacher John can’t stop the wind! So, sorry about that audio quality.

SEGMENT: DISCUSSION - Hiking Gear - What to bring

John Koons: Alright, a beautiful day on Mt. Hachibuse. A pretty good hike coming up? What do you think about that hike?

Amazing.
Amazing! I agree with that.

How was the hike for you Charlie?

It was really nice. A lot of nature, beautiful stream, some steep bits, some flat bits.

And the view from the top?

Out of this world. Fantastic. 360 degrees.

Okay, we have a beautiful day in May here on the top of Mt. Hachibuse and we’re talking about things to bring hiking. Who’s going to start us off. What do you need when you go hiking? Something to bring hiking.

A smile.

Yay!

Toothbrush. I saw somebody in this group brushing his teeth on the way.

Something to bring hiking?

You should bring a towel.

Like it.

Something good when you go hiking in the mountains or thae hills.

Peanuts.

Alright, let’s see. I’ll say “senbei” which are the crispy rice crackers, very popular in Japan. Bring senbei when you go hiking. Anything else?

A good pair of shoes or a good pair of flip-flops, or an extra pair of socks.

Do you need clothes when you go hiking, Charlie?

Nah. Not me anyway.

Something else to bring hiking?

Chocolate … with peanuts.

Sunglasses.

Camera.

Very nice.

Marshmallows.

Hat.

Some water.

Sunblock.

Alright, I put some of that on. I usually fry when I’m out here. Any time of the year, doesn’t matter. I’ll fry out in this sunshine-filled place we have here, Matsumoto, Japan. I hope the wind is not kicking up here into the mic too much. Anything else?

Energy.

Bring your energy. Comedy is okay by the way.

Bring your friends.

Isn’t that nice.

Trousers, except Charlie.

Except Charlie? He’s our naked hiker.

Bring your dog.

Hey, I like it! Okay. And our last round is, things to NOT bring when you go hiking. Things to NOT bring when you go hiking. Who wants to start us off?

Encyclopedia.

Horseshoes.

Especially the heavy ones.

Mp3 player.

[laughing]

I like that. That’s a good one.

Makeup.

Alright. Don’t need the makeup. I’ll ditch mine out of my pack.

Uncooked spaghetti.

Raw eggs.

Ice.

I was going to say Charlie, but that’s not very nice. [laughing]

Unicycle.

Fan. Electronic fan.

Ah, man. An axe.

We were talking about an axe. You need an axe to build your cabin — chop it, cut it.

Parachute.

Alright. Don’t bring your parachute when you go hiking. Alright, the last round: things to not bring when you go hiking.

A wig.

A wig. Okay.

Suitcase.

Alright. Anybody bring their suitcase. I forgot my wig. Have a look. You see.

Grumpy friends.

Don’t bring grumpy friends. Should we bring Thomas next time?

He’s not grumpy.

Things not to bring when you go hiking.

Roller skates.

Alright, everybody. Thank you very much. Thanks for being on the English Teacher John Show, special mountain edition.

Oh, another thing to bring, that you really should remember next time, is a kite.

Ooh, flying a kite off of Mt. Hachibuse. I’ve seen the remote-controlled gliders but I haven’t seen a kite up here.

That’d be cool. I’ve gotta get a big one.

Alright. Thanks you guys.

[music]

SEGMENT: LANGUAGE - Accepting an Apology, Forgiving

At some point, all of us will receive an apology. Someone will say to you:

I’m sorry.
I didn’t mean that.
I apologize.
Please forgive me.
I’m so sorry!
Please accept my apology.
Sorry for keeping you waiting.
I want to apologize for my behavior last night.
Sorry I’m late. (I hear that one sometimes from my students. But, that’s okay. I’m often late so often I have to say, “Sorry I’m late.”).

How do you respond to that in English? How do you accept an apology? Well, try these:

That’s okay.
No problem.
Ah, you really don’t have to apologize. It’s okay.
I forgive you.
Thank you. I accept your apology.
Don’t worry about it.
No worries.
No need to apologize, but thank you.

FORGIVENESS is an important concept when accepting an apology.
FORGIVENESS is:
- to decide not to continue being angry about something that someone has done or said, and not to allow your memory of it to influence your future relationship.

And, here are two well-known PROVERBS, WORDS OF WISDOM about apologizing and forgiving.
1. To err is human, to forgive divine
We all make mistakes, right, so “To err” or to make an error or mistake is human and well, it’s normal and common. But, to forgive someone is divine. It is really something special, something honorable and very gracious.

The second proverb is:
2. forgive and forget
Offer your sincere forgiveness and move on. Forget it. Hey, nobody’s perfect!

Laurence Sterne was an Anglo-Irish novelist and clergyman, and, a long time ago in 1760, he wrote:
Only the brave know how to forgive. A coward never forgave; it is not in his nature.

[gong]

SEGMENT: SIGNOFF

Thanks for listening everyone. Thanks to our music man, Martin Chenhall. Transcripts are on our blog, at english teacher john -dot- com, and our email address is p o d c a s t -at- english teacher john - dot - com.

I wasn’t able to find an exact source for this meaninful quote:

Forgiveness means bending without breaking,
being strong enough to withstand
the heavy weight of injury
but resilient enough to recover.
Be forgiving!

Okay, everybody. Let’s really try to forgive each other more quickly and more often. Mata ne.

listen/download (mp3) | duration: 10:05 | file size: 7.01mb | podcast page

On English Teacher John Show number 74:

• Are you kidding??!!
• Language lesson: showing surprise
• music by Martin Chenhall
• additional music by Dano
• full transcript (below)

listen/download (mp3) | duration: 15:30 | file size: 10.64mb | podcast page

On English Teacher John Show number 73:

• A walk in the snow, and cherry blossoms … in mid-April!
• Celebration of Earth Day (April 22nd)
• music by Martin Chenhall
• additional music by Dano
• full transcript (below)

listen/download (mp3) | duration: 15:56 | file size: 14.67mb | podcast page

On English Teacher John Show number 72:

• Meet my brother, David
• We talk about “East vs. West” — the differences between the east and west of the U.S.
• music by Martin Chenhall.
• transcript (below)

On English Teacher John Show number 71:

• The recent solar eclipse!
• Interview with Charlie, who talks about his great creation, Fukurochan (website)
• Quotations about the environment
• music by Martin Chenhall’s band U.May.C
• transcript (below)

== FULLTRANSCRIPT for English Teacher John Show 71 ==

The Dog Days of Summer are here. Hey, if you’re looking for an easy time of it you might be barking up the wrong tree. It’s time for a challenge. Time for some sharing, learning, and all that with some whip cream and a cherry on top [Laughter] if you’re lucky. Hey, it’s time for the English Teacher John Show 71. Let’s go Dog Days of Summer.

[Music]

Welcome everyone to the English Teacher John Show 71. My name is John Koons and I am the host of this high tension Podcast. I don’t know I guess its part educational, part entertainment maybe something a little bit more, a little bit less than that. Our show is for everyone but especially for English Learners of all abilities.

We are all about clear and easy to understand English, good humor, interesting topics, and fresh minty breath, and sometimes we fail especially about the breath. Our Podcast is produced right here in our eco-friendly recycled studio in Matsumoto, Central Japan. Today’s episode has three segments. First, it’s some commentary about the recent solar eclipse which was partially viewed by my students and me. Then we’re going to hear an interview with my good friend Charlie who is the mastermind behind the Fukuro-chan phenomenon.

Charlie: It’s this cute little character which looks just like a plastic bag and lives out some crazy, fun, interesting adventures.

Haven’t heard of it yet? Well, stay tuned. Finally, in the third and last segment in the spirit of Fukuro-chan, we’ll bring you some quotations about the environment. Here we go!

Hey, how about the recent solar eclipse. In Japanese it’s called kaiki-nisshoku and I was excited about it for about the two weeks leading up to it. In the end, it was a pretty clouded over experience but I was able to at least view it and enjoy the eclipse with some of my students. As the big day approach, July 22nd, I continued to read all of the new stories that I could.

I also mentioned it in my lessons and hope to generate some excitement. “Man, Japan was right in the path of totality.” Parts of Southern Japan would get about six minutes of totality of mere darkness at 11:00 am in the morning. Now, how often does that happen?

Well, in fact, here in Matsumoto in Central Honshu Island, I learned that we would experience about a 65% or 70% eclipse. Hey, good enough for me. A little internet research gave me the idea for a very complicated eclipse viewing contraption. Basically two pieces of white paper with one of them having a pinhole in it.

OK not so complicated. Well, my Wednesday morning lesson on the 22nd started at 10:40 am, and I quickly reminded the students that we would go outside and check out the cosmic happening. I also warned everyone that it’s a very, very bad, that’s bad idea and dangerous idea to look directly at a solar eclipse. Isn’t it generally a bad idea to look directly at the sun anytime during the middle of the day? As we got outside, the only thing that was clear was the fact that the sky wasn’t very clear. Well, we waited patiently and sometime after 11:30 am, we were rewarded with a pretty good image of the eclipse.

As the clouds cleared, the eclipse began showing up on my high tech paper device. Also some of my students were watching the reflection in a puddle, very clever. I’ll have to check if that’s an approved and risk free way to watch. Well, between 11:30 am and about 11:45 am that day, we had some nice views of the eclipse.

And I think we were all happy that we had stayed outside and persisted a little longer than some of the other classes. In my opinion, it was well worth it. OK, coming up next it’s an interview with Charlie the creator of Fukuro-chan.

SEGMENT 2 - INTERVIEW

All right, Charlie welcome to the English Teacher John Show once again.

Charlie: Hello, nice to be back.

John: Yeah. Good to see you. Hey Charlie, you’ve got a new a project going on and I think the name is “Fukuro-chan”. What’s the name of your new project and your character?

Charlie: OK, the name for the character that I’m drawing is called “Fukuro-chan.” Fukuro is a Japanese for ‘plastic bag’ the kind that you get at the supermarket. And Fukuro-chan is this cute little character which looks just like a plastic bag and lives out some crazy, fun, interesting adventures and…

John: What’s the motivation like why did you choose a plastic bag? How did this come about? Have you been thinking about this for a while or was this kind of like a quick lightning strike?

Charlie: Well, I think the underlining motivation is to highlight something that’s kind of invisible for most people and take a simple object like a plastic bag and you wouldn’t think much of it. But if you had 120 million of these used then disposed of everyday, it definitely becomes an environmental issue that we just don’t see. But at the same time if this inanimate object, a plastic bag, became interesting became alive, became cute enough for you to think about, or care about, or just even notice it then you maybe have some part of your subconscious remind you every now and again that, “Hey, we’ve got to take care of this planet because we’ve only got one.”

John: So specifically like what behaviors or what things are you specifically trying to change or trying to make people aware of?

Charlie: Yeah, it’s difficult if you go in the direct root into telling someone like what they already know. Like if you say, “Hey, let’s not use plastic bags, let’s use our own bags and hey, if we do that and it will be fine.” In a sense that’s easy to say but it just doesn’t somehow happen that easily because we’re all stuck to our routines and things. So what I wanted to do is just to bring this character into the subconscious of those who read it.

Hopefully it will be as famous as Disney one day and people would know that every time they take a bag they’ll think about Fukuro-chan and they’ll be like, “Wow, yeah, this cute little fellow could be doing other the things other than carrying my shopping and being stuck in the bin straight after kind of thing.” So basically he’s trying to creep into the subconscious and it’s kind of like difficult because it’s ambitious trying to get it to be as famous as Disney it’s not going to happen soon but it’s cute enough and I think it might takeoff.

John: And Fukuro-chan you said it’s a comic that you draw and now recently I’ve seen that it’s also a costume that you wear.

Charlie: Yeah, imagine that. I first started off drawing a very short Yonkoma manga which is a four vignette comic strips. Just kind of funny stuff not really like ecologically themed just trying to make Fukuro-chan a character basically. It could be any character kind of thing and it being funny enough to keep the interest going. But now, I’ve decided to make a few more steps to get Fukuro-chan popularized then I think one of those steps is dressing up and visiting schools and kindergartens and festivals and say, “Hey, I’m Fukuro-chan. Come and check my story.”

John: And you had your first run trial run, I was lucky enough to see Charlie wearing his Fukuro-chan outfit. How did the first experience walking around as the live character Fukuro-chan? How did it go in this past weekend festival?

Charlie: It went really well. That suit it took me three weeks to make thereabout and it’s really hot inside so it’s not easy wearing it but it’s a lot of fun and the kids kind of pick up on things that you wouldn’t notice like if this is a safety pin that’s visible. The illusion kind of breaks down and they realized that there’s a person inside so it’s interesting to see the kid’s reactions. But yeah, some kids they’re like a little bit afraid because it’s one meter 80, 180 centimeters tall. How the kids really like it and yeah it was good fun hard work but good fun.

John: That was really good. I think you guys you really you got to see Charlie wearing his Fukuro-chan outfit, the comics. Charlie where can we find this stuff? What’s the best place if people want to see your Fukuro-chan stuff?

Charlie: OK. Well, there’ll be two places where you can find it and both of these websites link from my main website which is www.ex1st.com but Fukuro-chan has its own website which is Fukurochan.com. And I’ll be moving all the comic strips and the photos and whatever towards that website in the near future because if you’re new comics are only available on the Fukuro-chan.com website now so check them out and have a look. There’s a free download coloring sheets, printable postcards, stickers, and some fun campaigns coming up soon.

John: All right, any plans for a Fukuro-chan mate, wife, or girlfriend, or boyfriend?

Charlie: Well, that’s him. I mean Fukuro-chan is not really a boy, he’s not really a girl, it’s neither or both so whatever and there are so many of them that they don’t need anymore company and they’ve got lots of friends which you’ll learn about in the future. Please check it out. Yeah.

John: All right Charlie thanks for sharing a little bit about Fukuro-chan with us. You have something else you want to tell us plans for the future?

Charlie: Yeah, the next step for Fukuro-chan is to get a picture book written and published somehow maybe online or whatever so look out for that.

John: All right. Hey, thanks. I recommend everyone go take a look Fukuro-chan. Thanks for talking to us at the English Teacher John Show Charlie.

Charlie: Thanks for having me. All the best, see you guys soon.

[Music]

SEGMENT 3 - QUOTATIONS

Well, in the spirit of Charlie and Fukuro-chan, let’s look at a few quotations about our environment.

I got these on the site: quotegarden.com

There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed. ~Mohandas K. Gandhi

Thank God men cannot fly, and lay waste the sky as well as the earth. ~Henry David Thoreau

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

Our modern industrial economy takes a mountain covered with trees, lakes, running streams and transforms it into a mountain of junk, garbage, slime pits, and debris. ~Edward Abbey

For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death. ~Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962

The rose has thorns only for those who would gather it. ~Chinese Proverb

And finally, from the humorist and writer Art Buchwald:

And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use.  And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried:  “Look at this Godawful mess.” ~Art Buchwald, 1970

These quotes are on our blog. Have a look …

SEGMENT - SIGNOFF

OK well, we’ve got the rain pouring down here on this evening in Matsumoto and that’s it for Show 71. I hope you enjoyed it and learn something today. You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcast, some transcripts, an assortment of miscellaneous crap all of that and more at englishteacherjohn.com. And we’ll have the complete transcript for the show up on the blog soon.

You can find some of my other things especially the recent videos at offcue.com. Our email address is podcast@englishteacherjohn.com. Well, thanks to you all for listening. Special thanks to Charlie and Fukuro-chan and always a big thank you to our music man Martin Chenhall. All right everybody, catch you next time and I hope you’re enjoying the Dog Days of Summer.

[Music]

“Freedom” from U.May.C featuring Martin, Will, and Sho. Catch them on their MySpace page.

Today, we’re talking about multicultural people and places, on the English Teacher John Show number 70!

• Interview with Sean, who talks about his mixed background, Canada and Cyprus.
• Also, you’ll learn a lot about the island nation of Cyprus.
• Celebrities with multicultural backgrounds.
• The new Offcue Live Show
• transcript (below)

Recently, I brought the English Teacher John production team over to one of my work places and spoke with my colleague, Sean.

All right, my friend and colleague, Sean is our guest today. Welcome to the show Sean.

Sean: Thank you, John. It’s a privilege to be here live on the Internet, partially live on the Internet. Thanks to the miracle of digital recording technology.

John: Yeah, we’ve got a beautiful day here in Matsumoto. Well, I live in Matsumoto, Sean lives around the area. Sean, you have an interesting upbringing. We are talking about the multiculturalism or biculturalism. Tell us a little bit about your upbringing and your background.

Sean: Okay, well I’m a product of an international marriage myself. My mom has her family roots in Canada going back to before 1867, before Canada became a unified nation. And my father was born and raised on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean, third largest island in the Mediterranean.

John: Wow, very interesting. When you grew up, did you spend time in both of those places or another place?

Sean: Didn’t spend any substantial time in Cyprus because in 1974 there were some military conflicts going on there. But we always went there sort of holidays like in Christmas or summer holidays. We didn’t ever live there for any substantial period of time but we certainly vacationed there as a family, definitely. And most of my own childhood was spent outside the Canada. I’m a Canadian citizen by birth but because of my parents’ working situation I actually spent most of my childhood outside of Canada.

John: Really? For example, what places did you spend time in your childhood?

Sean: Okay. Grade 3 and 4, I was in Kampala, Uganda and then grade 5, I was in Monrovia, Liberia on the west coast of Africa.

And graduated high school from ISKL - International School of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and along the way, I also spend time at the University of Copenhagen, Københavns Universitet. So I had a pretty peripatetic upbringing, I guess you could say.

John: And as far as language, I don’t even know if English is the primary language in Cyprus. What kinds of language or languages were spoken around your household?

Sean: Yeah, so in Cyprus, two major language groups, Turkish in the north and Greek language in the south. Those two communities have experienced ethnic strife over the years and my family is a bit like Capulet and Montague in Romeo and Juliet because I have relatives on both sides of that ethnic divide.

But yeah, we always spoke English at home just because when we are moving around to different countries, the schools we always went to whether they were American schools or British schools, the language of instruction is always English.

John: And as far as customs or holidays, traditions, you have of course Canadian and Cyprus - Cypriot which are your mother and father, and you are living in places like Uganda, was there a mix of kind of cultures and festivals going on? Your father is from Cyprus, your mother is Canadian and yet you are living in an African country like Uganda.

Sean: Excellent question. I love that question.

John, I guess because my father, after he finished his studies, he decided to reside permanently in Canada and became a Canadian citizen because my father patently and explicitly wanted to become a Canadian citizen and he became one. I guess because of that our family grounding was always Canada-first, and anything else, second. But of course, when you’re living as a permanent resident or as an expatriate in a foreign culture, obviously you tried to adapt and to honor the local festivals, the local customs when in Rome-type thing you know so we always you know try to pay heed to that.

John: Right. And was it – you as a young person moving around to two different countries, how did you feel about that? Was it – I’m a bit of a traveler and my immediate thought is oh, boy that sounds exciting but maybe is a child it might have had its tricky moments?

Sean: Yeah. I think the latter. The latter is probably is truer for kids. I think as an adult you can look back in retrospect and say boy, I was really fortunate to have all these intercultural experiences and many kids from more parochial backgrounds maybe don’t have those opportunities. But when you’re a kid, it’s basically horrible because it takes a few years to develop friendships and to really feel comfortable in an environment, and to be uprooted every two years, every three years in a diplomatic lifestyle, it’s very tough on the kids. And I think there has been some research done on diplomatic expat – expatriate families and I think there’s a higher than average rate of divorce among diplomatic families, and that maybe intergenerational. And there’s definitely a higher than average substance abuse problem. That’s definitely a fact you know.

John: And did you think that you would end up back in Canada? Was that part of your thinking or your plan which looks like it didn’t happen? You’re now living in Japan. So now you’re still an expat living in a different country other than your country of citizenship. How’s that? You didn’t end up in Canada.

Sean: Yeah. Both my younger brothers, they both are in Canada today. But from me, I just always felt probably much like yourself, a bit of wanderlust or a bit of a deep-seated desire to experience life on a different culture. That always had a very strong attraction to me whereas in my own culture because everything is so familiar and there’s a real comfort zone there. I don’t want to use the word ‘banal’. But you know, I guess when we live outside of our own comfort zone, there’s a certain adrenaline rush there and I’ve always been attracted as perhaps, I’m sure you could identify with possibly, I’ve always been attracted to that adrenaline rush that comes from being just a little bit outside traditional or orthodox comfort zone.

John: Yeah, I agree. I live in India before Japan, and I agree, there’s a bit of a rush and excitement level. How are you finding Japan? You’ve been here a while. What do you think of the life here?

Sean: I mean I’m now a permanent resident of Japan so that probably will tell you a lot about my feelings towards Japan. I mean I love Japan very, very deeply on a profound level. It’s not perfect. There is no Shangri-La but again, I’ve never ever found Shangri-La in this world and I don’t think I will too soon.

But generally speaking, especially here where we live in world Japan, in Nagano prefecture, I find the focus on interpersonal relationships as opposed to status symbols or the size of one’s back account or you know who made your shirts, or what car you drive. I find the primacy here of interpersonal relationships. I find that really, really attractive.

John: Yeah, me too. I think so. Sean is a music aficionado so I think will part with maybe a few music comments. Sean, which bands are hot? I know you listen to a bunch of different kinds of music. You are an expert on all kinds of music. Who’s hot, who’s not, what are you listening to these days?

Sean: Okay, well I don’t know if I’m an expert in music because I am an expatriate in a rural area and I think you that means to a certain extent that I am removed from the heart of a lot of really thriving in vibrant music scenes.

But there are so many really, really wonderful in the bands in Japan right now. I can recommend group of young ladies called the 5 6 7 8’s from Japan. Guitar Wolf are a perennial favorite. I saw them for the first time in Vancouver, BC (British Columbia or Canada about 10 years ago, opening for the Cramps, and I’ve been in love with Guitar Wolf ever since.

Other Japanese bands who – oh, my latest discovery in terms of Japanese music is a guy named Mikami Kan who goes back to the early 1970s’ folk scene in Tokyo and he was, at one point if I’m not mistaken, a communist but he has just returned to live music and the music studio. Mikami Kan, he’s a very singular vocalist. He’s got a very unique way of singing and once you’ve heard his voice you’ll never forget it.

In terms of Canadian bands, well Canada is definitely the flavor of the month right now in terms of up and coming indie bands. The Arcade Fire is really a top-notch Canadian outset right now, Tokyo Police Club, and a band from Toronto, who my friend Paul Kehayas plays in. They are called the Brown Hornets. The Brown Hornets give a plug to Paul Kehayas of Toronto and his band the Brown Hornets.

John: All right. And what genre would you put these. You’ve just named a bunch of bands, Japanese and otherwise, do you have a particular favorite kind or genre of music that you listen to?

Sean: Yeah. My own personal favorite kind of music and the music that I actually collect is avant-garde. All the bands I just listed or just mentioned is briefly, they’re all sort of you know rock or roots rock, R&B type band, but my own personal music addiction goes towards, or heads towards or avant-garde music.

And the band that I collect most maniacally and most irrationally is a band from San Francisco, California called The Residents.

John: All right. Sean you live in Wada which is outside of Matsumoto or is it Matsumoto is outside of Wada, I’m not sure…

You guys have a big concert, a big festival every summer. Do you want to plug your festival there a little bit before we go?

Sean: Sure. Thanks for the opportunity to do some shameless PR here. It’s the Wada Joint Music Festival. It’s a three-day outdoor music festival and in this day and age of no free lunches, there is no ticket required. In other words, you can go for three days of outdoor music, multiple stages for absolutely no money. Everybody who attends is automatically on the guest list.

John: Well, do you have a date on that?

Sean: Yeah. I don’t know the exact dates this year, but it’s always the weekend after Fuji Rock Festival. So Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, the largest music festival in the Eastern hemisphere I found out, Fuji Rock is the final week every year of July, the final weekend of July and then Wada Joint Outdoor Festival, 100% free is the following weekend. So the first weekend of August every year, every summer.

John: Okay. And we can find all different kinds of music there?

Sean: Yeah. Traditionally, it’s jazz and dub music that’s why it’s called joint of jazz music with some kind of dub and trance music. But there are a lot of DJs and a lot of drum and base music as well.

John: All right. Sounds like a good event. Thanks for that and thanks for joining us today on the English Teacher John Show.

Sean: Thanks a lot, John. It was my unmitigated pleasure to make my debut appearance on the English Teacher John Show.

John: All right, take it easy. Sayonara.

END: INTERVIEW

SEGMENT: FEATURE - CYPRUS

Well, you heard Sean talked about Cyprus. So let’s learn a few things about that interesting place. I got the information from Wikipedia of course, and also, the CIA World Fact book at cia.gov. So you know it’s got to be the truth with a few things hidden probably but let’s go with it. And hey, there’s going to be a little trivia quiz at the end of this, really.

The island of Cyprus. Officially, the country is the Republic of Cyprus. Population is somewhere between 800,000 and 1 million. I guess there are some political struggles on the island so that could explain why the population figure is a little bit unclear.

Cyprus is the Mediterranean’s third largest island and do you know the biggest and second biggest Mediterranean islands? Okay, well, we’ll have that answer for you in a couple of minutes. Let’s see, Cyprus has 648 kilometers of coastline. Its highest point is Mount Olympus, 1951 meters. Two point four million tourists visit Cyprus per year. Wow, that’s a lot popular place.

The adjective is Cypriot so when you’re talking about Cypriot food or a Cypriot, a person from Cyprus. It’s been a member of the EU since May of 2004. The currency is the Euro as of January 1st, 2008. The climate in Cyprus is a Mediterranean climate, yeah of course, right, it’s a Mediterranean country. Hot dry summers and cool winters. Cypriot’s drive on the left side of the road which is the same as Japan and I guess the UK and other UK influenced areas, the US and other places. I think China drive on the right. Let’s see, the Internet TLD is what top-level domain I think, dot cy is Cyprus on the Internet.

Well, it looks like the meze or mezze, is a very important thing. It’s a kind of – it’s a type of meal specialty, a special experience in Cyprus and I apologize, I think it is both from the Greek side of – from the Greek ethnicity in Cyprus and also the Turkish. There are primarily Greeks and Turkish background people – from Greek and Turkish background on Cyprus. And I believe the meze or mezze comes from both of those.

Let me see, I’m reading from Wikipedia here. The meze is a meal comprising a broad range of Cypriot dishes - each one a small portion, allowing the diner to sample a good proportion of the restaurants’ menu in a single meal.

A typical meze will consist of local bread, tashi (a local variety of tahini), Greek salad, natural yoghurt, taramasalata (sounds like salad), olives, calamari, keftedes, fish (fried or grilled), fried lountza,dolmades, halloumi (which could be grilled or fried), souvlakia, sheftalia, lamb chop, chips, stifado (usually beef, but sometimes rabbit or octopus) – I’ll withhold my comments on that, afelia, followed by fresh fruit of the season.

Exactly what you get will depend on the season and will vary from restaurant to restaurant. In years gone by, a meze would be delivered very slowly, allowing the diners to chat and drink for several hours whilst picking at each dish, but these days (perhaps due to tourists misinterpreting this deliberately slow service as poor service) it is more usual for the dishes to be presented at a more conventional pace so maybe some other culture, and the long meze has been lost.

Don’t be surprised on how long it takes and how much food is offered, and siga siga, I think means slowly, slowly. Maybe the Indians would say shanti-shanti and the Cypriot says siga, siga – slowly, slowly. Coffee along with a Cyprus or Cypriot brandy usually completes the meal.

All right, well that sounds pretty good. I guess we’ll need someone to come in and help us. Maybe we’ll have to grab Sean again to understand what some of those dishes mean. All right, let’s see now. Its quiz time as I promised.

Let’s see, most of these I got from funtrivia.com.

Our first quiz question which I asked you before, the Mediterranean’s third largest island is Cyprus. How about one and two? They both start with S. Yeah, number one, part of Italy – Sicily is the biggest island in the Mediterranean and Sardinia or Sardinia is the second biggest island. Cyprus is third.

All right. Next quiz question. Which ancient Goddess is associated with Cyprus? Is it Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, or Zeus?

Number two, if you were eating halloumi, what type of food would you be eating and let’s see, is it lamb stew, cheese, fish soup, or pastry?

And next quiz question, what is the name of the animal which is the symbol of the Cyprus Republic and is also used on its coins? Is it a. chicken, a lizard, a bull, or a sheep? Chicken, lizard, bull, or sheep?

And finally, which is the most used language in the Republic of Cyprus? It is English, Greek, Turkish, or Russian most used language?

All right, let’s see about the ancient Goddess? It’s Aphrodite or Venus in Roman – the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite and Venus in Roman.

Let’s see, the next one was about eating halloumi, and sorry of my pronunciation, what type of food – is it lamb stew, cheese, fish soup, or pastry? The answer is cheese. It’s a cheese dish.

Number three, what kind of animal is a symbol and used on the coins - chicken or lizard or bull or sheep? The answer is a mouflon which is a kind of sheep. Did you get it?

Finally, what’s the most used language in the Republic of Cyprus – English, Greek, Turkish, Russian? Well, the answer is no, not English, it’s Greek, 82% according to the information I have here. Both Greek and Turkish are official languages.

All right, well that wraps up our section about Cyprus. Stay tuned for famous multicultural celebrities.

SEGMENT: MULTICULTURAL CELEBRITIES

All right, well we’re talking about famous multicultural or bicultural celebrities. People like Sean who have parents who are from different places not just one place. Let’s look at some examples. I got some of this information from mixedfolks.com. Hey about Barack Obama – the current President of the United States. His mother from Kansas in the U.S. and his father was from Kenya in Africa.

Tiger Woods, the famous golfer is of white Chinese, native American Thai and black, and I guess they mean black African descent. His father was half African-American, half Asian, and his mother is mostly Asian heritage.

Alicia Keys, born Alicia Cook is an American recording artist, musician, and actress. She is from Manhattan in New York and she is the daughter of an Irish-Italian mother and a Jamaican father.

Tadanobu Asano is a relatively famous Japanese actor born in 1973 in Yokohama. He was recently in the film Mongol, one of his big roles recently, and his father is Japanese and his mother is of Navajo, native American Navajo ancestry.

And finally, Frida Kahlo born 1907 and died in 1954 - the pretty famous Mexican Painter, and I’m going to read this. From 1926 until her death, the Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo created striking, often shocking images that reflected her turbulent life. Kahlo was one of four daughters born to a Hungarian-Jewish father and a mother of Spanish Mexican Indian descent. She was born in Mexico City. She was a polio survivor.

All right, well there’s a few multicultural celebrities.

END: MULTICULTURAL CELEBRITIES

SEGMENT: SIGNOFF

Well, that’s it for show number 70. I hope you enjoyed it and learn something today. I know I learned a few things today. You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcasts, some transcripts, other language help, a map to the hidden treasure, all of that and more at englishteacherjohn.com.

We’ll have the complete transcript for this show up on the blog soon. Our email address is p  o  d  c a s t  -AT- e n glish  teacher  j o h n  -dot- com.

Hey, we’ve got a new show. It’s called the Offcue Live Show. Why don’t you check it out? You can Skype into the show and talk to the host. That means you can talk to me.

We are just starting out with the Offcue Live Show. So the schedule is not yet fixed. However, if you visit us on Tuesday or Thursday evenings at 7 pm Japan time you’ll probably find us. We will have a fixed schedule coming up shortly. The Offcue Show is 7 pm Japan time, that’s around lunch time in Europe and early morning in the East coast of the U.S., and what we used to call oh dark thirty, very, very early in the Central and Western U.S. We will have some discussions and interviews talking about life in Japan as an expat and a few other things showing videos and images of life and experiences. So join us with the new Offcue Live Show – offcue.com and live.offcue.com.

All right, everybody, thanks to you all for listening. Special thanks to Sean and to our music man, Martin. Catch you next something. On the way out, we are going to hear a song by, no, not Martin but Will who you guys know. He is a member of the band U.May.C, and the song is Leaving San Francisco.

See you next time.

Hey, it’s pirates, juggling and vending machines. And, the only thing that connects all of those is … The English Teacher John Show number 69!

• Interview and music from U.May.C band members Martin and Will.
• A discussion with Dave and Daniel about vending machines in Japan.
  
• see episode transcript below.

== FULL TRANSCRIPT for English Teacher John Show 69 ==

Hey, we’ve got pirates, juggling and vending machines and you know what? The only thing that connects all of those is the English Teacher John Show No. 69.

[intro music]

Welcome everyone to the English Teacher John Show No. 69. My name is John Koons and I am the host of this illustrious, entertaining and enlightening internet podcast, maybe.

Our show is for everyone but especially for English learners of all abilities. We try to use clear and easy to understand English and we always brush after meals. Our podcast is produced right here in our volcano-top studio in Matsumoto Japan. Watch out for the lava if you come to visit us.

[Gong]

Today we’ve got a very special show. Our music man, Martin, has stopped by with some of his band’s new music and also in today’s show, I rounded up a couple of friends today and we had a short discussion about vending machines. Stay tuned.

[Laughter]

[Music]

Okay, it’s time for some local, original music, music, music! Local means local to our Nagano region of Central Japan. I think many or most of you know Martin Chenhall. He’s been producing our podcast music for the last hundred years or so and he’s put together a band called U.May.C. You can find more of them on myspace.com.

Hey and guess who is another member of this band. Yup, Will, another friend of The English Teacher John Show and Matsumoto’s favorite guy on crutches, plays the guitar and bass and he sings also. Recently, we had these two musicians in the English Teacher John studio for an interview about their new tracks.

=== start INTERVIEW ===
Will and Martin, welcome to The English Teacher John Show, guys.

Martin: Thanks English Teacher John.

Will: Hey John, what’s up?

John: You know I have been presented with a special demo disc. You guys are recording some music any…

[Laughter]

John: Unfinished?

Will: Yes.

John: You guys want to set up - I’m going to play a little bit of this if that’s all right and you want to set up any of the songs?

Will: Sure. I think the first song on there is called Corsairs Jig and it is a pirate song and I wrote it.

John: So, you illegally download it?

Will: Yes.

[Laughter]

Will: It’s not a pirated song. It’s a pirate theme song.

John: Oh, I got you.

Will: I wrote it around last Halloween and it was kind of during the time where the Somali Pirates were really going crazy and it was all in the news and they’re hijacking, like Russian ships with tanks and you know, oil tankers and stuff like that. And so I went on the internet and kind of did some research and found some interesting names and ideas about pirates and then I wrote a song about it and tried to make it sound like a Tom Waits’ song, like my voice is all, “Roll, roll, roll.” Like, “Walk the plank and don’t look back.”

[Laughter]

It’s all like a pirate and, so that was the kind of idea and we added some funny pirate noises and some laughing and it’s a beautiful song.

John: All right. We’re going to listen a little bit of it.

[music - Corsair's Jig ("pirate song")]

John: All right. Martin, any of the songs - anything you want to say about this recording project or any of the songs on there?

Martin: Let’s see. There - we’re actually going to apply for the Rookie Stage at Fuji Rock this year. There’s kind of a competition called Rookie A-Go-Go and they choose, I think its 11 bands from anyone who wants to apply in Japan. You can be a band, DJ and you kind to perform really and you get to play at Fuji Rock, the biggest rock concert in Asia.

John: Well and when and where is Fuji Rock?

Martin: It’s at the Naeba Ski Resort which isn’t close to Fuji but it’s central north Japan and it’s July 24th, 25th, 26th. But it’s a long shot. Last year they had a lot of Indie bands which is kind of English or would you say leftover punk music on what you - what you call it? Anyway.

John: So you guys have not signed with the labels? So you guys are independent at this point?

Martin: That’s right. It’s - this demo disc is out of my kitchen like all of my CDs.

Will: We’re not a garage band, we’re a kitchen band.

Martin: We manage to record in between the apple farmers making their noises so that’s good.

John: All right. Well, thanks for joining us guys. Good luck with finishing the music and your application to get in the Fuji Rock and I think we’re going to listen another track here.

Martin: All right. If you want to listen to one of mine, Life is Good. That’s a nice motto.

John: All right. Let’s have it listen.

[music - "Life's been good"]

=== start: DISCUSSION - vending machines in Japan ===

John: And in our discussion segment today. We’re going to talk about vending machines. Why vending machines? Hey, why not? All right, first we got Daniel. Welcome to The English Teacher John Show.

Daniel: Hello. Nice to meet you.

John: Hey. We’re talking vending machines and we also got Dave here. Dave and Daniel. Hi Dave.

Dave: Hi. How are you?

John: Yeah. We’re all doing fine. All right, well I use vending machines as you guys know, we have a lot of vending machines around Japan and they sell lots of different things like…

Daniel: 50 cent coffee.

John: All right. These cheap coffee drinks. Daniel, are you a big user of vending machines?

Daniel: I would say rarely. Maybe once in two weeks. Very rarely.

John: What do you buy when you do go to a vending machine?

Daniel: Coffee. Always coffee.

John: And how does it taste?

Daniel: When you want a coffee- when you really want a coffee and you get one from the vending machine, that’s right there. It’s a beautiful thing.

John: All right. Let’s see. Any downsides? Sometimes I see articles in the paper or have some conversations. Vending machines, of course, are very useful. Is there any downside to vending machines?

Daniel: Yes. They are really bright and they’re everywhere. So, there’s one right outside - there’s several right outside my apartment that provide daylight at all hours of the night. I’d say that’s the downside.

John: All right. So they’re bright - bright, bright lights disturbs you a bit. There’s the cold and hot drinks available. They take a lot of power, I think. Something else, Daniel?

Daniel: Well, there’s something I read recently on the internet. Big cities in Japan are starting to put in vending machines that will automatically vend drinks for free in case of an emergency like an earthquake. So, I think that’s a really great idea.

John: Oh, I didn’t know that. That’s a good one. All right. Let’s shake the earth around the vending machine and see if it gives us some free stuff. All right now, there are some things available in vending machines but how about a wish list? Do you guys have any ideas? Something you would really like to be sold in a vending machine. I’ll start. I would like what we call a panku, is a flat tire, bicycle flat tire. I would like a repair kit available in the vending machine. I’m on my bicycle a lot and I could quickly find a repair kit or panku kit. That would be - do you guys have a - Daniel looks like he’s jumping to answer this question. What would you like to see sold in vending machines?

Daniel: Well, this is kind of a tough one John, but as a single guy, I’m not too creative but I think basically basic toiletry items would be nice to have…

[Cross-talk]

John: Well, you’re going to say something else as a single guy.

Daniel: Let’s not go there.

[Laughter]

John: For example, toiletry items, what kind of stuff?

Daniel: Okay. You know, you occasionally run out of shampoo or toilet paper or you need some toothpaste like - usually those kinds of things don’t all run out at the exact same time so, every week or every couple of weeks you got to go and get a couple of bottles of whatever and it would be nice to have a machine especially around a university campus where lots of young people live that sell that kind of stuff.

John: All right. Good suggestion. Dave’s humming in the hall and over here.

Dave: Well, one thing that comes to mind would be maybe some - some of the back - what do you call them - from the archives of The English Teacher John Show.

[Laughter]

That was going to be useful here in Japan for all our students who want to learn English.

Daniel: I think that vending machine would…

John: Selling.

Daniel: That’s the invested to.

John: Nice guy. Do you hear that comment from Daniel? Selling old episodes of The English Teacher John Show. Well, being that we give the new ones away for free and all episodes for free, I’m not sure about the business model there.

Dave: Hey, I’m not a business guy. What can I say? I’m an English teacher.

John: I heard that they sell music, mp3 downloads in vending machines. Somewhere like you could plug your iPod in, I heard that. It’s Daniel’s turn.

Daniel: I’m little lost here. DVDs.

John: That’s a good idea. Dave, have you ever seen movie DVDs for sale in vending machines?

Dave: Have I ever seen them?

John: All right Dave, we’re talking - this is a family rated show. Have you ever seen normal Japanese or Hollywood movies available, the kind that you would watch with your family, have you ever seen those available in the vending machine?

Dave: No. I can’t honestly say that I have. Sorry.

John: Would you use a vending machine like that?

Dave: Yeah, I suppose if there was - if it was near my house and the price was the same as going to one of the video places, I suppose.

John: Daniel?

Daniel: I’m thinking about laundry detergent.

John: Wow. All right it’s…

Daniel: I don’t know, I always seem to run out of laundry detergents.

John: All right. Dave’s got one for us.

Dave: No, I was just - I’ve never used it but on my way to work I pass by a place called JA which is like a - I don’t know. It’s where the farmers sell their produce basically and…

John: Japan Agriculture, I think.

Dave: Okay, and there’s one on my way to work and there’s another one here in town and they have vending machines with vegetables inside.

John: For example, like what are they selling in there?

Dave: I’ve never looked back carefully but I’ve seen the sign and they do have vegetables for sale there but like I’ve said, I’ve never bought anything.

John: I was thinking you could put like 100 Yen, maybe 200 and you could watch a short video or even like a TV show episode that you’ve missed.

Daniel: Just, like right there?

John: Right there.

Daniel: You’re sitting in there.

John: Yeah, right there.

Daniel: Well, if you’re going there, you know, instead of thinking of the traditional vending machine idea where you put in money and a little something drops out, what about just like service machines that do something.

John: For example?

Daniel: You can pay your bills. You scan it and put the money in and then you don’t have to walk all the way down to the convenient or whatever.

John: That’s not a bad idea. Or buy tickets, juggling equipment. We’ve got a bit of a juggling team here so goodbye juggling clubs, balls.

Dave: I’d love to see that a vending machine that sold juggling clubs. That would be really great. I don’t know how you get them in there or how you get them out but…

John: Daniel, would you buy stuff from a juggling equipment vending machine?

Daniel: Yeah. I think if the quality was decent.

John: All right. Well, you guys this has been very enlightening conversation. Let me say that again. This has been a really enlightening - I can’t say it. Hold on. This has been a very enlightening conversation. Dave, thanks for joining us today.

Dave: Well, thank you.

John: Daniel, thanks for joining us.

Daniel: Thank you too. I hope to find a vending machine soon that sells true happiness.

John: Well everyone that brings us to the end of show no. 69.

[SIGNOFF]

You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcast, some transcripts, other language help, our high school love letters and more at englishteacherjohn.com. Something in the water here today. And just to let you know the complete transcript is now online for our last show no. 68, all at englishteacherjohn.com. Our email address is  p  o  d  c  a  s  t  -AT- e n g l i s h teacher john -dot- com.

Okay, well thanks to you all for listening. Thanks to Dave and Daniel and to our good friends Martin and Will, together with their lead guitarist Sho, their band U.May.C for today’s music. Catch you next time. We’ll hear a little more U.May.C on the way out.

You can find Will and Martin and Sho’s band, U.May.C, at myspace.com slash umayc.

Today we talk about babies, birth and borrowed words.

• Interview with Elmar
  (interview starts at 2:20)
• Idioms:
  - born to do <something>
  - a born <something>
• borrowed words (from German):
  - schadenfreude, zeitgeist
• see episode transcript below

== FULL TRANSCRIPT for English Teacher John Show 68 ==

Hey, Elmar dropped by the studio and he doesn’t have much time, so let’s get right to it. It’s Elmar, you, me and all sentient beings. It’s the English Teacher John Show No. 68.

[intro music]

Welcome everyone to the English Teacher John Show No. 68. My name is John Koons and I’m your host. Our show is for everyone, yes, but especially for English learners of all abilities. We try to use clear and easy-to-understand English.

Our podcast is produced right here in our humble studio in Matsumoto, Japan. Alright well let’s look at our show index; we’ve got three segments today.

[Show Index]

First, an exciting and newsworthy interview with Elmar, a good friend of the English Teacher John Show. Then, [phone rings] I’ll talk about a couple of idioms. And finally in segment three, it’s words, words, words. We’ll talk about a couple of words borrowed from German. Alright, let’s do it.

[Gong]

Recently we sat down with Elmar who some of you may remember from show number 62, and show number 51 and show number 31.

===== INTERVIEW: start =====

John: All right, we’ve got a special guest today. It’s my good friend, Elmar. Welcome to The English Teacher John Show, Elmar!

Elmar: Hello. Hello.

John: Good to see you again. You were our guest right here in this very café a couple of years ago. One of our early interviews on The English Teacher John Show.

Elmar: I remember very well. The situation I remember, but I can’t remember what we were talking about.

John: Anyway, also I did one about transportation at my house, I think.

Elmar: Transportation, ah yeah. Ah, yeah.

John: Anything new in your life these days?

Elmar: Yeah, you could say so.

John: Let’s see–work? Play? Life? Family? Job? Marriage? What’s going on?

Elmar: There’s lots of small waves and one big wave rushing over my life, which is the birth of my son.

John: Oh my God! Omedetou gozaimasu! [Japanese]

Elmar: Thank you.

John: All right. Yes, the birth of your son.

Elmar: Birth, yes.

John: Very recently.

Elmar: Very recently, yeah. About three weeks ago now. Three weeks ago. We’ll soon have the first celebration of his first month.

John: Ah, he’ll be one month. One month old.

Elmar: One month, yeah.

John: And what did you name him?

Elmar: His name is Jakob.

John: Jakob in German?

Elmar: Jakob in German, and in English you would pronounce it ‘Jacob’.

John: Jacob. So tell us a little bit about whatever you want to share about the birth of your son, the recent birth.

Elmar: Oh, that’s a difficult issue because this whole process of giving birth was a very, very intense experience, and fortunately I could be with my wife during the whole process. And, well, these days a lot of men choose to be there, but when you actually are in the delivery room and you experience the birth, you suddenly understand why there are cultures where men are not allowed in this process.

John: What surprised you or what was difficult about being in the delivery room?

Elmar: Well, the first difficulty of course is that you can’t help much. You can’t do much. Your presence is important. And especially for my wife, she says my presence was very important for her psychologically to get through the whole birth. So that’s one thing.

But of course there are many people involved whose function is far more important than yours, of course. You are standing by. You just watch the whole process more or less. Of course, you do a lot of massaging and helping, but you can’t do the really important stuff. That’s something that experienced people…

John: Maybe you don’t want to do it, either.

Elmar: Yeah, probably.

[Laughter]

John: And how many people are running around in this operation, in this process?

Elmar: Well, it depends on the stage [Laughter] of birth. And also it very much depends on how things are going. If things are going very, very well, if things are going optimum, then there is just the midwife and maybe another nurse or something. But things are getting complicated, it may be that a couple of people are running around, like six, seven.

John: Six, seven people running around–

Elmar: Yeah, frantically.

John: –working on the mother of your child.

Elmar: Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Which means everybody’s moving around but you and your wife, you’re the only persons who are kind of standing, lying. [Laughter] Not moving.

John: What’s your main emotion when you’re there? Is it excitement or worry or happy or… What kinds of emotions do you have while this is all happening around you?

Elmar: Retrospectively, it was very interesting for me to not…how can I put that…to see this big emotional difference before the child is there and after it is there. It’s not only that the birth is over and you kind of… The huge difference is that you suddenly–for me it was our first child, and you feel that there’s something very fundamentally changing in your life. That’s the big difference. And living through this process, getting to this point was something that is very, very hard to describe. Very hard to describe.

John: About how long did this whole process take?

Elmar: In this case, 17 or 18 hours from…

John: And you were in the delivery room pretty much the whole time, most of the time, or some of the time?

Elmar: The whole time. The whole time. I haven’t been out for one minute. I’ve been there all the time. Which is very important, by the way. Which is very important, I think, because for the wife it can be a very frustrating experience if the husband’s going out just having a coffee or eating something. But leaving her there, leaving her back in the delivery room, that’s something that must be very, very hard. Yeah.

John: All right. Well, Elmar, thank you for sharing a little bit about the recent birth of your son and the experience there.

Elmar: Well, you’re welcome.

[Laughter]

John: Thank you for joining us on The English Teacher John Show.

Elmar: Thank you. Thank you very much for having me.

===== interview: end =====

===== start: IDIOMS =====
Our two idioms today have the word “born”, B-O-R-N.

idiom: BORN TO DO something
And their use and meaning is very similar. OK, our first idiom is “Born to do something.” “Born to do something.”

She was born to sing.

It means that she has natural ability.

My brother was born to lead.

He’s always had leadership skills. So he was born to lead. “She was born to sing” or “born to teach.”

idiom: TO BE A BORN something
OK and that brings us to our second idiom which is very similar, just the grammar is a little different - “to be a born something.” For example, “He’s a born leader.”

He’s a born leader.

Again the grammar is slightly different from our first idiom but the meaning is pretty much the same. When you are “a born something”, you have obvious natural ability.

I am not a born guitar player.
I am not a born singer.

But I am trying to do those things. Let’s see. How about “He’s a born winner” or “He’s a born loser.” That’s not very nice.

She is a born leader.
She is a born teacher.
He is a born tennis player.

OK so it’s all about natural ability.

Back to Elmar, if it’s really like father like son, then I think his new son Jacob is probably a born good guy.

OK, that’s it for idioms. Next up after the short break it’s words, words, words.

[music]

===== start: WORD WORDS WORDS =====

Well this segment is about words, words, words. Today we have two interesting words that have been borrowed from German. I think it’s kind of cool to throw some of these borrowed foreign words into your casual conversations. It has a bit of coolness or hipness about it. You know what I mean? Kind of cool or hip.

SCHADENFREUDE
Alright, the first one’s “schadenfreude“. Pronunciation “shah-din-froyd-ə” I think is the pronunciation which sounds a bit German and of course it’s a German word.

It’s spelled S-C-H-A-D-E-N-F-R-E-U-D-E. That’s schadenfreude. The meaning is actually not very nice but I think you can find an opportunity to use it. “Schadenfreude” is the delight in another person’s misfortune. So delight or joy or pleasure because of another person’s bad luck or misfortune. Something bad has happened to someone and you are actually feeling good about that. Hey, that’s not nice. How about an example.

Feelings of schadenfreude arose when she saw that her ex-husband had lost his job and gained a lot of weight.

That’s not very nice. “Feelings of schadenfreude arose when she saw that her ex-husband had lost his job and gained a lot of weight.”

Yes, it was definitely schadenfreude when they told us that the top-ranking team had dropped out.

Hey you shouldn’t feel good about their bad luck or misfortune. ”Yes, it was definitely schadenfreude when they told us that the top-ranking team had dropped out.”

ZEITGEIST
OK let’s move on to our next word, also borrowed from German - “zeitgeist“. It means the spirit of the times; the spirit or spirit characteristic of an age or generation.

I got these explanations from answers.yahoo.com:

General trend of thought and feeling at a particular time.

The zeitgeist of a particular place during a particular period in history is the attitudes and ideas that are generally common there at that time. Especially the attitudes and ideas shown in literature, philosophy, and politics.

OK and on the net, also from answers.yahoo.com I got:

The prevailing mood or attitude of a given period.

That is the “zeitgeist.”

Examples from Google News Search, I found this sentence in the media:

Sir, rarely has a photograph captured the zeitgeist as accurately as the one featured with your article.”

So there we have “captured the zeitgeist.”

Next one, from purpleslinky.com. (whatever that is):

The zeitgeist of today is ever-changing. What’s cool today is old tomorrow.

And from Yahoo News Search, I got:

Until, of course, the angry zeitgeist cranks out our next set of villains.”

Villains are the bad guys. “Until, of course, the angry zeitgeist cranks out our next set of villains.

And finally, from a Google Search, I came up with this from The Durango Herald, which I believe is a newspaper in Durango, Colorado, the place where I have been, a very nice place. Here’s the quote:

He was victimized by the youth sports zeitgeist - that spirit of the time that makes what a parent has or who a parent knows as important (sometimes more important) to a young athlete’s success as the athlete’s ability.

Alright, I’m going to shorten it out a little bit, one more time. “He was victimized by the youth sports zeitgeist - that spirit of the time that makes what a parent has or who a parent knows as important to a young athlete’s success as the athlete’s ability.”

OK, and that’s it for “zeitgeist” and that’s it for words, words, words.

[gong]

===== start: SIGNOFF =====

That brings us to the end of Show No. 68. You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcasts, some transcripts, other language help and more at englishteacherjohn.com. In fact, I just uploaded the transcript for our last episode no. 67. And you’ll also soon find the script for this episode, all at englishteacherjohn.com.

Our email address is  p o d c a s t -at- english teacher john -dot-  c o m . And just a warning, I get a lot of spam in that account so I apologize in advance if I have not properly responded to your email. Sometimes the spam is a tough problem. But please keep sending us anything you want to tell us. So that’s p o d c a s t -at- english teacher john -dot-  c o m . Thanks to you all for listening.

[music]

Thanks to Elmar and to our music man Martin Chenhall. Catch you next time.

Hey and here’s a little secret. Now, our music man, Martin Chenhall and his friends Will and Shou have put out a few new songs.

So we’re going have a listen to those in our next show.

We’re back with a new episode!
In this episode:

• Healing
• Interview with Will
• Quotations: about healing
• The new Offcue Show
• see episode transcript below

== FULL TRANSCRIPT for English Teacher John Show 67 ==

Section: INTRO

Welcome everyone to the English Teacher John Show. Our show is for English learners of all abilities. We tried to use clear and difficult-to-understand English. No, no, no we try to use clear and easy-to-understand English. Our podcast is recorded, edited and produced right here in our studio in Matsumoto, Japan. My name is John Koons and I am your host. Alright, let’s see.

Today’s show, we have two segments. In our first segment, it’s an exciting interview with Will, who lives here in Matsumoto. Our theme today is healing so you’ll hear something about healing in this interview with Will.

[promo: interview audio clip]

John: Will, can you give us a little summary of what happened recently.

Will: I was snowboarding at Hakuba 47…

Then, we’ll have a couple of quotations in our second segment. Alright, let’s do it.

[Gong]

===== section: INTERVIEW =====

We’ll start off with the interview.

[interview: start]

John: Alright, well we’ve got a special interview today. Our guest is Will. How you doing Will?

Will: Doing okay.

John: Welcome to the English Teacher John Show.

Will: Good to be here.

John: Yeah, why don’t you just tell us a little bit about yourself. I know a lot about you but our listeners don’t.

Will: Okay. My name is Will and I’m from America, Salt Lake City, Utah and I’m an English teacher here in Matsumoto and I like to play music. I play the guitar and I like skiing and snowboarding and yeah, that’s about it.

John: Well, Will is under special care right now, he had a little accident. Now, I don’t know if he wants to get it too much but Will, can you give us a little summary of what happened recently?

Will: Yeah, well on March 1, 2009, I was snowboarding at Hakuba 47.

John: [Whispering] Will is a very good snowboarder and skier, by the way. He comes from Utah.

Will: And it was the end of the day and I was snowboarding in the trees and I unfortunately hit the tree with my left leg.

John: Did you hit the tree or did the tree hit you?

Will: I think I hit the tree. It wasn’t the tree’s fault. It was my fault.

John: Trees are very slow to move out of the way, aren’t they?

Will: Yeah, it didn’t really get up and ran away or anything like that. No, it was my fault. Yeah, so I hurt really bad. I knew it was really bad when it happened and it hurt a lot and I had to yell for help and someone finally came.

John: And you ended up getting to the hospital.

Will: Yeah.

John: Then, what’s the diagnosis?

Will: Well, I broke my tibia in my left leg near the joint and I had surgery and they put a metal plate and nine screws or bolts into my knee bone and I can’t walk, I can’t put any weight on my leg and I was in the hospital for 12 days but now I’m home and it’s nicer to be home but I can’t do anything right now.

John: Now, well you’re a pretty active guy.

Will: Yes.

John: What’s the hardest part about being injured and in a third floor apartment? What’s the hardest part about it?

Will: I miss independence being able to ride my bike to go somewhere.

I miss being outside. I can go outside but I can’t. I need to stay near my bed just to lay down and to make my knee feel better and I miss walking around normally which is hard; everyone takes that for granted but now I’m starting to feel like I miss that and it’s kind of crazy to watch my leg gets skinnier and skinnier. It’s already happening.

John: You can notice the muscles?

Will: Yeah, the muscles are getting smaller, atrophy. Yes, already, I can feel it. It’s crazy.

John: And we have an expression “blessing in disguise“ to mean you know something bad happens but then there’s something good that comes from it. Maybe something you don’t realize immediately. Right now, anything good maybe that’s come from this period of being injured and being a little bit immobile?

Will: Well, I have been able to see a lot of my friends, a lot more than I might have which is nice. Everyone came to the hospital and which is really great and a lot of people who have helped me out which is great and I have time to relax. Not that I was really stress-prone guy before but now I’ve getting a lot of sleep, catching up on years of sleep and my mom sent me some delicious potato chips that I have been enjoying.

John: [Whispering] I’ve tried a few of those.

Will: And they are my favorite.

John: I have tell they’re not some kind of potato chips, absolutely wonderful greasy, salty, love it, excellent potato chips.

Will: They’re the best. That’s from America.

John: Thanks to the Springmeyer family.

Will: Yes. Well, I do have more time to play some music though it’s kind of hard to get around and get the guitar opened but I was having good time yesterday at John’s house. We had a good jam.

John: It’s quite nice. Any particular things you’re working on? Well, tell us about what do you play? What instruments and what kind of music?

Will: Well, I started playing guitar when I was 12 and I have started playing bass when I was 14 and I played the banjo and the mandolin also but I mostly play the guitar and the bass and my styles range from bluegrass, rock, country, reggae, funk, and latin. A lot of different styles. I like a lot of different kinds of music but I think the songs I write personally are more kind of rock, country style, I guess. And I just wrote a pirate song and I wrote a song that kind of sounds like maybe Credence or Eagles or something.

And yes kind of my artistic outlet. My sister is a painter and I’m a musician but there are no other musicians in the family really so we just popped up randomly.

John: And the injury, will it affect anything related to playing music, any songs we should look forward to about your injury or your period of rehabilitation?

Will: There might be a few more bluesy songs coming out. It’s not the happiest guy but I’m certainly doing alright but maybe I write song kind of the swollen leg blues or the third floor crutches blues or something like that. Yeah, let’s see. I haven’t written anything specifically for it yet but well I have time to so…

John: When do you expect to be fully back in action?

Will: Well, I think how about five months that’s what the doctors are saying. It seems like a really long time and I’m hoping that that’s the maximum length at full but two months with no weight on my left leg and then I think after three months can start putting full weight and then…

John: So rock climbing is out of the question.

Will: For a while yeah and bicycling is out of the question which is a major that’s hard because that was my former transportation in Matsumoto so I’m going to have to mooch rides off of people to ride some or take the bus.

John: I can strap you on my bicycle.

Will: I don’t think so.

[Laughter].

John: Alright Will, well good luck in your rehabilitation.

Will: Thanks.

John: Yeah thanks for joining us on the English Teacher John Show.

Will: Good to be here.

John: And my last question.

Will: Yes.

John: Is it time to eat the ice cream?

Will: I think so. Lady Borden here we come.

John: Alright. Let’s go.

[interview: end]

===== section: QUOTATIONS =====

Alright well, we’ve got a few quotations for you today. The first one is from Hippocrates, the wise Greek physician of the couple thousand years ago. He said,

“Healing is a matter of time but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”
– Hippocrates

Healing is a matter of time but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.

And we have an Ethiopian proverb,

“A person who hides the truth that he or she is sick cannot expect to be cured.”
– Ethiopian proverb

A person who hides the truth that he or she is sick cannot expect to be cured.”

Alright have to tell your friends, your family, let people know you’re not doing so well.

And finally, our next quote is from Sai Baba, the Indian guru and in fact there are two indian gurus known as Sai Baba, one is still alive and one who passed away in 1918. I think I will leave it to you guys to research which Sai Baba we’re quoting here.

Sai Baba said,

“Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.”
– Sai Baba

Love one another and help others to rise to the higher levels simply by pouring out love. Love is infectious and the greatest healing energy.”

Okay, well our quotations today are from dailycelebrations.com, livingfully.com and brainyquote.com. Alright, that’s it for quotations.

[Gong]

===== section: SIGNOFF =====

Okay, that brings us to the end of Show Number 67. You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcasts, some transcripts, not all transcripts, other language help and more at our website, englishteacherjohn.com. Our e-mail address is p o d c a s t -at- englishteacherjohn –dot- com.

Thanks for listening. We will catch you next time and if you’re a little under the weather, under the weather means you’re not feeling so well, you’re not quite 100% in health. So if you’re a little under the weather in body or mind, well happy healing!

Our music man is Martin Chenhall. You can catch him on MySpace. Thanks, Martin.

]]> http://englishteacherjohn.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=183 http://englishteacherjohn.com/blog/?p=153 http://englishteacherjohn.com/blog/?p=153#comments Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:18:01 +0000 English Teacher John http://englishteacherjohn.com/blog/?p=153 listen/download (mp3) | duration: 17:54 | file size: 14.44mb | podcast page

We’re back with a new episode!
In this episode:

• Advertising slogans, jingles and taglines
• Idiom: I don’t buy it!
• Quotations: about advertising
• The new Offcue Show
• Below, you’ll find: slogans, quotations, then the FULL TRANSCRIPT for this episode

Enjoy and learn!
John

ADVERTISING SLOGANS, JINGLES and TAGLINES talked about in this episode:
Diamonds are forever. (DeBeers diamonds)
Just do it. (Nike)
Good to the last drop. (Maxwell House coffee)
Breakfast of champions. (Wheaties breakfast cereal)
When it rains it pours. (Morton Salt)
Where’s the beef? (Wendy’s fast food/hamburgers)
M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand. (M&M candies)
We bring good things to life. (General Electric)
Be all that you can be. (U.S. Army)
Pepsi Cola hits the spot. (Pepsi Cola)
You deserve a break today. (McDonalds fast food)

source: http://adage.com

====
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. (Alka Seltzer headache/nausea remedy)
You’re in good hands with Allstate. (Allstate Insurance)
Don´t leave home without it. (American Express card)
Think different. (Apple Macintosh computers)
Reach out and touch someone. (AT&T phone company)
A little dab’ll do ya. (Brylcreem hair cream)
Have it your way. (Burger King fast food)
I’d walk a mile for a Camel. (Camel cigarettes)
When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. (Federal Express delivery service)
Finger lickin’ good. (KFC)

source: http://adslogans.co.uk

==========

QUOTATIONS in this Episode

Today’s quotes are from:
http://quotationspage.com
http://thinkexist.com

Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. -Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. -Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half. -John Wanamaker (1838 - 1922)

Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need. -Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

==  FULL TRANSCRIPT for English Teacher John Show 66  ==

Hey, where’d everybody go?? Hello, hello? Is anyone still listening to our show? Anybody home? Well, at least we still have Martin’s music on the old hard drive? It’s time for the English Teacher John Show number 66. Alright, Martin, HIT IT!

[intro music]

INTRODUCTION & INDEX

Welcome everyone to The English Teacher John Show No. 66.  Our show is for English learners of all abilities; we try to use clear and easy-to-understand English. Our podcast is recorded and produced right here in our low-tech studio in Matsumoto, Japan. My name is John Koons and I am your host.

[SHOW INDEX]

Let’s see, in today’s show our theme is advertising and marketing. We have 3 segments:

1. Segment one is about Language: We’ll look at some advertising slogans and jingles.
2. In segment two, we’ll talk about an IDIOMS - I don’t buy it.
3. Finally, in our third segment, I’ll give you some QUOTATIONS. And, these quotations are connected to advertising and marketing.

Alright, let’s go!

SEGMENT 1 - Advertising Slogans & Jingles

Right now we’re going to look at some advertising slogans, jingles and taglines that I got off the internet. Slogans, jingles, and taglines. You know, the words, phrases and sentences that are repeated over and over again in advertisements for products and services. These are called slogans, jingles or taglines. Sometimes maybe we call it the motto.

Just to let you know, I also have these listed on our blog at englishteacherjohn.com, so please have a look there to see them in writing. I think that might be useful and helpful.

Okay, let’s start the list of advertising slogans and jingles. I think that most or all of these are from marketing campaigns in the United States.

The first group I found these at adage.com.

Diamonds are forever. (DeBeers diamonds)
Just do it. (Nike)
Good to the last drop. (Maxwell House coffee)
Breakfast of champions. (Wheaties breakfast cereal)
When it rains it pours. (Morton Salt) - some connection to … even though it’s humid or wet, the salt still flows and pours easily, and doesn’t clump up. Is that right? Maybe I’ve got that wrong.
Where’s the beef? (Wendy’s fast food/hamburgers)
M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand. (M&M candies)
We bring good things to life. (General Electric)
Be all that you can be. (U.S. Army)
Pepsi Cola hits the spot. (Pepsi Cola)
You deserve a break today. (McDonalds fast food)

source:  http://adage.com

———-

At adslogans.co.uk, I found a few more marketing slogans. Here they are:

Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is. (Alka Seltzer headache/nausea remedy)
You’re in good hands with Allstate. (Allstate Insurance)
Don´t leave home without it. (American Express card)
Think different. (Apple Macintosh computer)
Reach out and touch someone. (AT&T phone company)
A little dab’ll do ya. (Brylcreem hair cream) - a small amount will do a good thing for you.

Have it your way. (Burger King fast food)
I’d walk a mile for a Camel. (Camel cigarettes)

*** Now, remember that I’m not supporting any of these. I’m not endorsing any of these products. I’m still trying to find maybe one that I use here. I’m only using these for language study. I’m in no way endorsing or supporting, or trying to recommend anything here. Alright, what else do we have here? A couple more …

When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight. (Federal Express delivery service)
Finger lickin’ good. (Kentucy Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food) - you can just imagine someone there, eating that greasy fried chicken and licking their fingers. A nice image!

source: http://www.adslogans.co.uk

———-

Well, that’s some ads. And I want to let you guys know, I think we’re going to feature a few more in our next podcast. That was just a few of the ones I found. We will have more in our next podcast.

Alright, next up, it’s idiom time.

———-

Our music is from Martin Chenhall. You can find him on Myspace. Thanks, Martin.

SEGMENT 2 - Idioms & Sayings

Our idiom today is:
I don’t buy it. I DON’T BUY IT.

She said she couldn’t help us this morning because she has to visit her parents. But, you know, I don’t buy it!
I don’t believe it. I don’t think it’s true. I don’t buy it!

Maybe she’s just sleeping in. maybe she doesn’t feel like working at 7am on a Saturday. I DON’T BUY her excuse. I don’t buy it! I don’t believe it.

The news story reported that the new highway will be finished this year, but I don’t buy it.
No way. I don’t believe it. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I don’t buy it.

Hey everyone, the English Teacher John Show is back. I heard John might start podcasting regularly again.
Nah, I don’t think so. I don’t buy it!

That new bakery cafe makes everything from organic, fair trade ingredients.
Yeah, I know. I heard that too. But, you know what? I don’t buy it.

I DON’T BUY IT. I don’t believe it. I don’t think it’s true. I don’t buy it.
He doesn’t buy. She doesn’t buy it. They don’t buy it. No, we don’t buy it.

Well, that’s it for our idiom. Next up after the break, it’s QUOTATIONS.

———-

SEGMENT 3 ­– QUOTATIONS - advertising

Here are a few advertising-related quotations I found on the net.

Today’s quotes are from:
http://quotationspage.com
http://thinkexist.com

Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is the cheapest way of selling goods, particularly if the goods are worthless. -Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. -Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

When I was growing up, Wanamaker’s was a big department store. Kind of like a mall - usually in the mall. Anyway, John Wanamaker, who founded the Wanamer’s stores, had this to say about spending money on advertising:

Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half. -John Wanamaker (1838 - 1922)

And finally, my favorite one. This quote is from Will Rogers (1879 - 1935), an American entertainer from, I don’t know, almost a hundred years ago, I guess.
Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.

Alright, that’s it for quotations.

[gong]

SIGNOFF

That brings us to the end of show number 66.

You can find our blog, all of our video and audio podcasts, the transcript for this episode and other transcripts, other language help and more, at our website, which is englishteacherjohn.com.

Our email address is podcast -at- english teacher john dot com.

THE OFFCUE SHOW
I think I’ve mentioned this before. We’ve got a brand new online project here in Matsumoto, and it’s called the OFFCUE SHOW. It’s a little bit of local flavor. It’s a local internet video show. You can find it at offcue.com. Have a look.

I think that’s it for today. Thanks for listening and we’ll catch you next time.
LIVE LOVE AND LEARN! How about LAUGH? LIVE LOVE LAUGH and LEARN! There you go. Alright everybody, have a good week. Bye bye.