E-L-E-C-T-T-I-O-N: The Daily English Show: (MY GF--SARAH) Today’s Word: Landslide! & #1. Courthouse Confessions

Show 876

Tuesday
4 November

Watch today’s show at
YouTube

Hi, I’m Sarah. Welcome to The Daily English Show.

Today it started snowing properly and now everything is white … which is kind of sad to see the earth disappear and know that it’s going to be sleeping for the next six months.

But today I also feel very excited because it’s the 4th of November 2008 and as you know, unless you’ve been living under a rock with no internet access … it is the presidential election in the United States.

I read this caption under a photo yesterday:
Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain - their epic battle for the presidency has the whole world transfixed.

I don’t know about the whole word … but I’m certainly transfixed and I think the whole thing is epic … and exciting.

And I think it will be very exciting if Barack Obama wins. For many reasons – one of which is to do with language, the fact that he is a brilliant speaker and communicator which is something that I think is a really important part of being a leader.

Anyway, speaking of the election, if you’re one of those people who has trouble pronouncing ls and rs - like many people in Japan - make sure you take extra special care with this word: election.

Today we’re going to do a short scene from a movie called Mission Impossible which came out in 1996.

At the start of the movie a man, who is a spy, is sitting on a plane and a flight attendant comes and offers him a movie – it’s a DVD or a cassette or something.

She says: Would you like to watch a movie Mr Phelps?
And he says: No, I prefer the theatre.
So she says: Would you consider the cinema of the Ukraine?
And he says: Perhaps you'll choose one for me. Thank you.

You probably know that perhaps means maybe, as in:

Are you going to come?
Perhaps.

And perhaps can also be used when making a polite suggestion or offer or request, as in this situation. Perhaps you’ll choose one for me, means: Please choose one for me.

Word of the Day

Today’s word is landslide.

an overwhelming majority of votes for one party in an election

I wonder if Barack Obama will win in a landslide victory.

bi longboat

erection!

brouhaha..
I hope I'm not the only one who got it,
loll
keep up the good work Sarah :)

car omen

Bush has, I think, the lowest ever popularity rating - worse than Nixon at his nadir - and less than a third voted? Ye gods.

Joy gala equine

Interesting episode, although i must say i support John McCain. But, I always wondered, do you write the scripts and do tdes all by yourself? In the credits it says 'sarah + knf'. I'm not sure exactly what that means but I'd find it impressive if you did all of this yourself. It must be a true feat to do this just about everyday.

unearthed lying showgirl

In terms of communication and debate I was also impressed with McCain the times I heard him, Palin not so much. As for the guy who looks set to become the next leader of NZ ... ugh *shudder*. Thank you, it is a feat ... but very enjoyable. KNF does a lot of important work - especially on the technical side: filming, camera set up etc. He also looks after the Japanese blog, does Japanese translations, research etc.

nap plan

Wow, that is amazing. I commend you, it is truly a good show. If my plans to major in Japanese in college and move to Japan hold up, i hope to make a 'Daily Japanese Show'. I think it's a really wonderful thing you're doing and i'd love to do something like it. You deserve your own segment on like, a news channel or something.

My girl

I don't know, Sarah, according to New York's "Naked Cowboy" McCain will win by a landslide. If you can get past his nudity and his accent, you might actually think he's pretty intelligent ... mum mm ... Well, maybe not.

Sheila Jimenez

My name is Sheila Jimenez. I'm a street artist. I sell my art on 14th Street and Broadway, right in front of Whole Foods. And I was arrested about two months ago for selling my art on the streets. So, I make one-of-a-kind bags that I make all of myself, I'm an advocate for sweatshop-free labor. Along with all of my bags I give a pamphlet on sweatshop labor, donating some of the proceeds to an organization. And they arrested me because they said I didn't fall under first amendment, which hundreds of New York City street artists are unjustly arrested every year because of the same situation. So, I was in court today, the case...they re-issued another court date for November 25th, and apparently it's a long process, it keeps going and going and going until finally they grant you first amendment, or they don't, depending on how they feel you fall into place.

Here's some examples of some of my bags. I do poetry on all of my bags.

"There is a stillness that lays deep inside the she in me.
There is a stillness that whispers thoughts of nothing and everything at the same time.
There is a stillness that knows.
Once in a while when my mind stops spinning and my body stops moving, I can hear that clear...clear voice.
And then...this...all of this, seems to make sense.
And...then...I remember that this, all of this, is just one moment in time.
There is a stillness that lays deep inside the she in me."

This is, yeah, I do this full-time. This is my primary source of income. I've been doing it full-time for about a year. I get a lot of...people really, in New York City, really respect the street artists, I think it's definitely a part of the whole atmosphere that attracts people, so I have a lot of repeat customers.