A Short Story: "Do You Speak English ?" by Simon Collings

Transparent discrepancies among the masses could be interpreted as : different languages equals different cultures, equals different perceptions. It’s these differences that benefits some and awes others. "Do you Speak English ?" is a short story about a young [presumably Latino]  boy from a piteous background who resorts to fishing as a means of making money, and whose actions eventually offend a passerby who happens to be an American tourist. 

      The story ,as a whole, is narrated from the perspective of Manuel, who is aware of the problems of the boy as he himself struggles with the sheer amount of issues of his own.
As the story unfolds, he watches the deception done by a young boy who takes advantage of the emotion of a tourist and ends up being paid for something he would not accomplish, and certainly does not merit.

      Throughout the tale, you are constantly fed by the notion of inevitable divergence as a result of varied background most of which are rooted in financial matters.
 
      The kind of departures that are only grasped thoroughly , within the concept of tourist gone appalled.

  
      The reader towards the closing of the story is obliged to ask themselves the authenticity of such significant diversity of opinions and philosophies in the real world caused by such fiddling, run-of-the-mill materialistic matters. 

      To put in a nut shell , "Do You Speak English ?" is all about differences.
 

You can read this brief story (4 pages long) here.    

Talk Show Podcast Episode six

The listeners of Talk Show podcast can pay heed to a brief interview with Ali Bajelan in this episode. You can also read the journalistic, written version at Interview with Ali Bajelan . 

Alternatively you can download the podcast here 

Interview with Ali Bajelan

It's a rarity to encounter with truly successful individuals who owe their achievements to their own competence. Ali Bajelan is certainly one of those folks.

      Amazing artistic psyche capable of transmitting the aesthetic values in something as simple as a small sketch, admirably keen intellect that carries the weight of judgment in the most sensible manner, all wrapped up in a meek yet confident package.

      Al is too young to be a legend and too old to be a prodigy, but none of that would stop him from doing what he has to do: contribution to the world.

      I was fortunate enough to have a few minutes of Mr.Bajelan's time and that was more than sufficient to be a ground for a groovy interview.

      Al is "twenty five and a half" years old as he put it; he has lived in gobs of countries for lots of years after leaving Iran at the age of seventeen.He is a major in fields of Mechatronic (robotic engineering),Nano and digital technology.

      Nevertheless being a technophile is not going to hinder his substantial artistic profile; Ali has also mastered conceptual and artistic design along with musical instruments such as piano. I would like to admit that I personally have seen only a small portion of his design capability through an extremely elegant drawing of an auto that he left for me after observing one of my Talk Show classes. However, this competency is rooted in Al's childhood since he has been involved with drawing and art ever since, not to mention the multitude of international awards including "UNICEF youth award", and "world's eighth underage designer" that he attained in this area.

      I then went on to ask him about his experience regarding visiting so many different countries [mainly in Europe], in response he said: " I have been around a lot, and I really enjoyed seeing these things [various aspects of a new society and a new culture], discovering these things, and talking different languages …I think it sets you apart from the crowd in so many ways". Although, he has certainly not been victimized by the infamous phenomenon of culture-shock simply because Al is profoundly interested in the European life-style and culture.

      "They read a lot, they go to theaters a lot, they go to cinemas, they go to art galleries, they go to museums...they know a lot about a lot." said he, and then proceeded: "unfortunately other countries do not do that and especially smaller cities in Europe do not have that; so I am talking about metropolitan cities like Paris, London….these kind of places."

      But we all know that having an "up in the air" life style has its own share of disadvantages as well, so the first prominent challenge would be adaptation to the continuous changes from one society to another since the Law of Inertia a.k.a Newton's first law tells us that change is difficult (let us get a little bit nerdy!).

      Significance of ESL in the contemporary world was another subject that was discussed in our interview, and Al simply mentioned that "if you do not speak English you'd be considered stupid and illiterate in so many ways!" and that is merely due to the fact that English is the key to communication with millions of people all over the world. 

      In Europe for example, "everyone speaks English and in fact every one has to learn it" even in countries such as Germany and France which the notion of nationalism and official language is bought and practiced by almost all the population.
Now wait for the punch-line; living in so many different countries for what is worth, nets you with the opportunity to familiarize yourself with "shit-load" of different accents.

     Then we discussed the impact of modern technology on academia which not to my surprise is as substantial in the eyes of Mr.Bajelan as it is to all of us.
Al himself has passed four courses for his Master's via e-learning. As a result it is quite common to use this technology for the benefit of learning pretty much everything, ESL not excluded.

      To those of Talk Show students who are willing to move to other countries Al says that "they should expect the worst" since the aforementioned decision would certainly be rather arduous in so many different ways from the new culture and language to the exclusive fundamentals of that community.

      As a long-time reviewer of movies for Total Film London and UK Film Society, who believes the financial intentions have overshadowed all other dimensions of cinematography in the contemporary world, Al recommends all the language learners out there to cherish movies as the best way to not only learn a new language but also the culture and mindset of the guild who speak it.

You can listen to the interview via Talk Show Podcast. 

Epilogue # 5, Science in the Modern World

Imagine a world without science! What?! You can not even conceive of it, can you? Science is so much intertwined with the modern world that it has already become a component of it and a modern world without science is an impossibility, plain and simple.

How index-learning turns no student pale,
Yet holds the eel of science by the tail!

      Science in the modern world was the topic discussed in our last Talk Show class. First we have to crystallize our perspective by contemplating about some related quotes:

• "Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure Science. "(Edwin Powell Hubble)

• “Modern science is still trying to produce a tranquilizer more effective than a few kind words”(Douglas Meador )

• “However far modern science and techniques have fallen short of their inherent possibilities, they have taught mankind at least one lesson: Nothing is impossible.”(Lewis Mumford )

• “A religion old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the universe as revealed by modern science, might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.”(Dr. Carl Sagan )

• “What happened at Hiroshima was not only that a scientific breakthrough had occurred and that a great part of the population of a city had been burned to death, but that the problem of the relation of the triumphs of modern science to the human purposes of man had been explicitly defined.”(Archibald MacLeish)

• "Science is the great antidote to the poison of enthusiasm and superstition."(Adam Smith)

      I initially focused the students' attention upon the notion that science is in fact a linear  function of time, in other words, as we proceed through the ages, so does the science towards betterment.

      In this way Talk Show participants started to compare the substantial differences among the scientific knowledge of the present as opposed to the past, and the many an advancement that has been the result of such difference.

      As the students were concurring on the issue, I then deemed it appropriate to unleash the simple question of Modern Science VS. Faith that has been around for as long as science per se has been formed. The classes were filled with engaging debates in this regard and the answers were quite varied. Not to my surprise the younger students generally believed that faith does not provide sufficient answers for their countless questions while sciences manage to fulfill just that even though many questions will be left to answer.

                                                                   Click to enlarge

      On the other hand, the older audience tended towards a balance between faith and science simply because they believed there is no notable contradiction between the two realms to be found.

     As a matter of fact, it's been said that science can answer moral questions:

      In the next part of our classes we discussed the advantages and disadvantages of science in the modern world.All the classes unanimously acknowledged that science is now officially inseparable from the lives of modern masses and living without it is a thing of the past.

     However; while many scientific accomplishments in various fields from medical and chemical to electronics and entertainment have certainly contributed to a world full of convenience, these phenomena have also separated humans from each other to the point where facebook and text messages have replaced face-to-face communication, obesity statistics have risen due to lack of physical activities, wars have been waged and lives lost in an instant using advanced technologies and so forth.

Finally the classes discussed the most optimal manner in which the modern science ought to be used which was assumed as a balanced life that covers all of our needs; be it physical, emotional , recreational, social , educational using the right science in the right places ,and in the right time .          

  

Handout as preparation for the upcoming Talk Show

Science has made the modern world. Many of us have heard the aforementioned statement  in one way or another, and many of us believe in it heartily. But are we truly aware of the importance of science in our modern world? Today we will discuss the issue in our Talk Show classes.

For start, I would suggest you to read the following article "Science and the Modern World" :

Read the PDF

Also regarding the phenomenon of science denial due to personal beliefs you are recommended to observe the following videos as a mental formulation :

World Science Festival 2008: Faith & Science (Excerpt) from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

Memento of one of my students

I just wanted to post a picture of one of my best students called Yashar, who has decided to pursue  substantial competency in English language despite his extremely busy schedule as a full-time (or shall we say extra-full-time!) civil engineer [ he sometimes works for almost 12 hours ,even during holidays]. 

Yashar's determination should act as a motivation for all the other students out there who might not spend enough time learning as hard as they should using lack of time as an excuse.

Longing to Return Home

By Mrs. Ella Goodwin, and Emilie Autumn


I'm homesick to-night, just homesick,

  O! how I long once more
Just to sit as of old in the twilight
    On the step of the old kitchen door
And watch the meek cows in the farmyard,
    And the colts in their frolicksome play
Or standing contentedly nibbling
    At the stacks of the sweet clover hay. 

In times of warmth when love and comfort dear
Have cast their blindless light upon my star,
How is it that I wish to disappear
And find myself again back where you are?
Is it that home is only home with you?
And how then did you earn your house that name
When judged by years it’s relatively new?
My home is not my home here just the same.
And so I will be happy as I must
Although without you sugar tastes as dust.


What sweetened torture I endure each day

When hour after hour passes by
And still I feel so very far away
From that which I desire - yes, thee and I
Yet rosey is my sadness, for ere now,
I never had pined after someone’s touch
Nor eyes, nor lips, nor hands, nor raven brow
And here I am missing almost too much.
My paradox is that I weep at this
While being glad I have a love to miss.


Heartsick I have been this long, long day
Heavy is my disposition, yet
I smile and try my best to hide away
The pain, the life, the love I can’t forget
Sorry am I for the ones I fool
They ask for nothing save my company
And yet I cannot seem to break the rule
That sayeth once I love twice bound I’ll be
Alas, I often slip and to them show
That far away my heart desires to go.

  I'm homesick to-night, oh so homesick, 
    Just to be there once more,
And stand where the golden sunshine
    Falleth across the floor;
Or to sit by the open window
    Where the breeze blows happy and free__
There isn't one spot in the old home
    But brings some tender mem'ry to me.

It seems only a moment past
I listened to the dulcet tone
Of thy too far off voice at last
But now I find myself alone
Yet, my eyes closed, I am not so
For underneath my fingertips
I feel your flesh, caressing slow,
And hold thy tongue between my lips
Past caring how forlorn it seems
I’ll sleep to meet you in my dreams.

 

I'm homesick to-night, O how homesick,

    Never my tongue may tell,
Tho' my heart may break with longing
    For the scenes that I love so well;
But the dear old home in the valley
    Will be mine, O never again:
No more will its sunshine cheer me,
    And wishes and tears are in vain. .

A cold wind ravages my mind
As though I were a blade of grass
Which, rained upon, has been made blind
And waits now for the storm to pass
But, strange, the closer cometh I
To travel’s end and your embrace
The darker seems to go the sky
The further off seemeth your face
‘Tis trying, when in pain, to rhyme
‘Tis harder still to measure Time.

The Mathematics of Women !!!

Today, while I was checking my email, I stumbled upon one of the messages that was forwarded to my address from one of my students called Mina Ebrahimi. 

    The message was dubbed "The Mathematics of Woman :) " and I myself found it extremely hilarious;as a result I would like to share it with you:

New anti-cheat system for Talk Show Polls Unveiled

The poll section of this blog starting from May 14th 2010 will be equipped with new advanced anti-cheat algorithms using the world's latest programming technology in order to preserve and promote fare choice among all participants of Talk Show.

       However, the downside of the enhanced anti-cheat system is the presence of a chance that genuine answers could be considered cheating. The system uses an advanced calculation based on geographic location, client information, and other elements to calculate whether it is likely that a response is a cheat.

       If respondents are located mostly within the same subnet (for example the same company or university network) it might appear that they have the same IP address. If so, genuine responders might be considered to be cheaters.

      Thank you for respecting others' decisions by not voting more than once. 

The Generation Gap Revisited as preparation for the upcoming Talk Show

The short report you are about to read is an edited rephrasing of “Generation Gaps in Attitudes and Values from the 1970s to the 1990s,” in On the Frontier of Adulthood: Theory, Research, and Public Policy . This brief account can prepare Talk Show participants for today's classes.
 
Read the PDF

         You can also further your knowledge regarding the gap between generations by reading "Generation gap" and "Generation gap: Who is to blame? " 

Talk Show Podcast Episode Five

Knowing different ways of learning a language has always been considered an important step in familiarizing yourself with the best and most convenient method of learning. 

 
 

In the fifth episode of Talk Show podcast various manners of teaching methods are introduced, and the listeners can subsequently choose one or a combination of them throughout their own routines for studying English.






Alternatively you can download the podcast here

Epilogue #4: Diet and Health

You are what you eat. If we all were aware of the truthfulness of the aforementioned statement, then cardiovascular diseases would not remain one of the prominent causes of death throughout the world.

Nature does require
Her time of preservation, which perforce
I her frail son amongst my brethren mortal
Must give my attendance to.

                                         William Shakespeare

       Thrust into the abundance of convenience provided by the new technologies, the occupants of the modern world are now facing with the scarcity of healthy life style.
Insufficient physical activities, rising pollution, stress and anxiety, processed foods, deficient nutrition intake, obesity, and high blood pressure are but few of the predicaments which are unfortunately quite common these days.

      However, this does not indicate the end for humanity or doom's day for that matter! Despite the fact that more people die of too much food than of too little at the current epoch, we all can bring upon changes to our life styles in order to counter all those negative factors starting by a proper diet.

      The topic diet and health was discussed in our latest Talk Show and specifically with some quotations regarding the theme:
  
 

"Don't dig your grave with your own knife and fork." 
 

"I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days." By Totie Fields.
 

"I'm on a seafood diet.  I see food and I eat it!"
 

"You can't lose weight by talking about it.  You have to keep your mouth shut!"
 

"You should not be afraid of heights but instead afraid of widths."
 

"When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow."  Tomorrow is disease." By Terri Guillemets.

      We started the classes by asking questions about the general definition of diet which was mostly responded by saying that diet refers to the accustomed habit of food selection and consumption used for a specific purpose. 

      I then demanded the participants to describe their own diets. The answers ranged from diets filled with junk foods and snacks to strict athletic regimens.

Strategies for Weight Loss -- powered by eHow.com

      Unfortunately we all acknowledged the fact that the majority of the class were in dire need of changing their diets for one reason or another.We then discussed the means by which we could improve our diet including :

-Physical activities and exercises on a regular basis.
- Four to six light meals a day instead of two to three heavy ones.
-More water and less salt intake.
-Abundance of fruits and vegetables in the diet.
-Consumption of foods that are rich in fiber.
-Less stress and anxiety.
-Avoidance of processed and fatty foods.
-Reduction of sugar and caffeine from the diet.   

       While improving the diet is one thing, maintaining it, is something entirely different. In this way the students commented that keeping the diet requires substantial determination as well as motivation, especially for the long and hefty diets.

       So in the end we all agree upon the fact that having a healthy diet is only attainable through change of life style, hence if you would rather stay fit, handsome and exuberant you'd better drop those snacks and start jogging.  

Diet and Nutrition Videos as Preparation For the Upcoming Talk Show

------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------

A Short Story: Gifts to the Dark Gods by Mary McCluskey

Addiction [to anything] regardless of its atrocity and immorality can degenerate even the healthiest and most qualified of life styles.

    While few forms of addiction such as drug abuse have always been taken seriously and confronted rigidly, other types ,however, have not.

    The compulsory desire to experience a supposedly normal physical or mental phenomenon repeatedly can prevent us from acquiring the basic fundamentals of living, let alone an irresistible impulse to perform something as fallacious as theft.

    Gifts to the Dark Gods narrates the story of a woman named Helen, who has everything and nothing. A family of virtue and wealth with happy children, and a husband who values morality and legality through his profession as a lawyer.

But perhaps one thing she lacks is independency from the hands of her husband who happens to be the bread winner of the household.

    Helen is simply addicted to shoplifting and stealing of goods; a rather strict rule regarding theft of three separate items a day governs this addiction to the point where she would suffer from panic attacks should she did not manage to steal the aforementioned tokens.

    The narrative more than anything transmits the grey sense of urgency for burgling something as utterly meaningless as a flower vase filled with water in order to quench the thirst for such addiction.

    This short story ends in a sensible yet predictable manner and serves as a reminder for all of us who may or may not find ourselves suffering from the predicaments of such.

You can read the story here .