Celebrity New Year’s Resolutions 2013

What are the Stars doing in 2013?

2013 is off and running!   

Happy New Year to everybody around the World! 

To start the year off right, let’s take a look at someCelebrity New Year’s Resolutions. 

(1)

 “To be more sympathetic and generous.”

Ashton Kutcher – Actor and model

(2)

 “Not to work so much” in 2013.”

J.J. Abrams - Filmmaker and TV show producer

(3)

 "Not to sweat the small stuff.”

Kelly Ripa – Actress and TV host

Sweet! “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

Language Learning Section

At this time of year, everyone is saying “Happy New Year!” or “What did you do at New Years?” or “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

From the Celebrity New Year’s Resolutions we can get some pretty cool and natural English for talking with friends and colleagues. 

Let’s take a look at the Question:

“What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

The question is usually in the plural form but your answer can be singular (1 idea) or plural (2 or more ideas).  Also, you probably noticed that the 'Celebrity Answers' all used short answers and omitted part of the grammar in their answers.  This is quite common when answering the New Year’s Resolution Question.

Long style of speaking

(1)My New Year’s resolutions are “To be more sympathetic and generous.”

(2)My New Year’s resolution is “Not to work so much in 2013.”

(3)My New Year’s resolution is "Not to sweat the small stuff.” (expression: ‘not to sweat the small stuff’ = not to worry about the trivial, small, or unimportant things in your life)  

Natural English Speaking Practice

“What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

(1)”To be more sympathetic and generous.”

(2)“Not to work so much in 2013.”

(3)"Not to sweat the small stuff.”

Some Ideas to get you started:

(1)”To be more helpful and caring.”

(2)“Not to eat so much in 2013.”

(3)"Not to worry about the small things in life.”

Find a friend to practice this New Year’s Speaking Style this week. Also, ask everyone you meet and chat with online: “What are your New Year’s Resolutions?”

Write down or record their answers.  I am sure you will get lots of new and interesting phrases and ideas.  And of course, understand your friends better and find new ones. 

So enjoy your week!  And my New Year’s resolution is to make more friends on face book!

Alex Graham Facebook

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Get Your Shop On! Black Friday & Cyber Monday

Paris Hilton

Black Friday is coming this week on Friday Nov. 23!

What is it?

-Prices will be slashed and bargain shoppers will be lining up early at their favorite stores.  Even celebrities like to shop for a deal!

When is it?

 -This American shopping tradition occurs the Day After Thanksgiving (4^th Thursday of November).  Not an official holiday but treated like one unless you work in retail.

-Generally 5am start time is pretty standard but some stores will open earlier or even be open all night from Thanks Giving Eve. Check the company's website for times. 

Where is it?

-Everywhere in America and catching on in other countries.

-At your favorite shopping store and at their website.

Who will be there?

-Friends, Family, Everyone!  One of the busiest shopping days of the year in the United States. Expect long line-ups and chaos as people rush to get the best deals!

Why is it called Black Friday?

Black Friday – 2 ideas:

(1)Originally a slang idea/expression coming out of Philadelphia, USA:  Black Friday was used to describe the idea of huge numbers of people and vehicles jammed packed on the streets the day after Thanks Giving. Everything seems black, not moving, and people’s tempers rise bringing out the worst in them. There doesn’t seem to be any light or space.  The term had negative connotations.

(2)Currently, Black Friday, simply invokes an idea of bargain shopping.  It is considered the first day of the Christmas shopping season.  Retailers also claim that this is the first day of the year that their companies make a profit or are ‘in the black’.   So, for retail companies from January 1 to Nov. 22 the stores are considered ‘in the red’ or not making a profit.  These two expressions stem from older accounting practices where black pen ink was used for profit and red pen ink was used to show financial losses.  Thus we have the term Black Friday or the day of the year when retail stores feel they are profitable.

How to get ready for Black Friday!

-Check out your favorite Retail Store for Black Friday Advertisements online and in the local newspapers and flyers.  Moreover, social media like Face book, Twitter, Pinterest, You Tube, etc. is filled with Black Friday fun!  There are also tons of apps out there!  Just select a site you trust!

New to the United States? Here are some common 'Big Store Names' that everyone knows.

Walmart

Target

Macy’s

Best Buy

Also online you will find some Dedicated Black Friday Websites like:

http://blackfriday.com/

http://www.theblackfriday.com/

Language Learning Section

Some Common Casual Language for talking about what you are buying or looking for on Black Friday.

For the Shopper that knows what she or he wants on Black Friday.

I am going to buy an Ipod.

I am gonna buy a flat Screen TV.

I want to get a new laptop.

I wanna buy a pair of sneakers.

I’m buying a new set of sunglasses.

I’m looking for a bargain on watches.

I’m looking for a deal on coffee makers.

For the shopper with an idea of what he or she wants on Black Friday.

I’m gonna look for a Christmas present for my husband.

I am looking for something new in the way of winter coats.

I am going to take a look at the appliances.

I am going to take a look at what they have in the way of golf clubs.

I might pick up an espresso machine if they have any good deals on.

I think I might buy some new blouses if I see any at a good price.

Didn’t find what you where looking for on Black Friday? No problem!  There is also Cyber Monday!

 

‘Back in the day’ a lot of people weren’t very keen to shop online or use company websites.  So to fix this problem and capture email addresses, the retail community invented Cyber Monday in 2005.  Cyber Monday occurs every year on the Monday following Thanks Giving Day.  If you don’t believe me check out Amazon’s Cyber Monday Deals.

Well that is all for this week!  Enjoy the shopping experience of Black Friday and Cyber Monday! Oh yeah and of course Thanks Giving with family and Friends!

Happy Turkey Day to you! Gobble Gobble!

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PSY ‘s Natural English Gangnam Style!

South Korean rapper 'PSY’ (Park Jae-sang) is sweeping the globe with his musical video creation known as ‘Gangnam Style’.  Gangam Style has gone viral on the Internet!  Not only that, PSY has been teaching celebrities from all over how to do Gangnam style dance moves. Even Britney Spears tried out the Gangnam horse ridding inspired dance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Even though the majority of North American listeners don't understand the lyrics, the video has garnered enormous attention in the media. Music and visuals can be such an expressive medium without international boundaries.

So, as I was listening to PSY and trying out a few of his moves, I noticed he used some excellent, natural, and casual English to teach his famous dance moves.

 PSY said:

“You ‘gotta’ use your upper body also not just your legs.”(to do the horse dance) ABC News

The key word in the sentence is ‘gotta’.  Maybe you already have some experience with ‘gotta’ but let’s just break it down, just in case.

Pronunciation Style

got to = gotta

Meaning

got to = have to/need to

“You ‘got to’ use your upper body also not just your legs.”

=

“You ‘have to/need to’ use your upper body also not just your legs.”

Grammar form

gotta + use

gotta + infinitive verb

Speaking Context or Usage

This is only one of the many ways ‘gotta’ can be used in casual conversation.  I would go into more detail but it would take a few pages of writing.  So, I just want to focus on the use of gotta for teaching someone.  Although ‘gotta is considered bad grammar, we can hear this expression in real life situations such as parents teaching their kids, or friends teaching friends, on You tube, etc.  Also, in a casual teaching context people tend to use the subject marker ‘You’. I recommend using ‘You gotta’ as PSY did. ‘Gotta’ seems like an easy word but, as you know, some of the simplest words have some complex grammar ideas attached to them. 

Try it out!

How to:  Make Instant Cup Noodles or Kraft Dinner or Tea/Coffee or your idea!

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Try it out with a friend, or send me (blogalexg@gmail.com) a sound file, or post a video link. 

Next week, I will post an example answer at Celebrity English.

Answer Idea- Using 'gotta' in a 'How to' teaching context.
Background

Halloween will soon be celebrated in North America (every year on Oct. 31).

So to help get ready for a Halloween party here is an easy idea for creating a Healthier Halloween Treat for kids!  The idea below should be used in a talking style because of the use of ‘gotta’.  You can change it to a writing style by simply substituting ‘gotta’ with 'have to' or 'need to'.

How to make Scary Sippers – Mummy Style

• First, you gotta buy some juice boxes.  You can get darker colored juices like grape or cherry to get more of a Halloween look or feel. Remove the attached straws from the outside of the box.

• Next, wrap the juice boxes with white electrical tape.  Any white tape is 'ok' but electrical tape has a better mummy texture to it. Make sure not to cover the juice box straw hole with the tape. 

• After that, glue on googly eyes.  You can buy these quite cheaply at any craft or dollar store. 

• Then chill the Mummy juice boxes in the fridge until the Halloween party is ready to begin.

• Finally, you gotta put the straws in the Mummy juice boxes. 

Now you are ready to serve these Scary Sippers – Mummy Style to your thirsty little Halloween guests!

Happy Halloween!

(Adapted from the October 2011 issue of Parents magazine)

POSITIVE POWER TO PSY!

An International musical success story,

 ALEX - By the way, I think I will leave the dancing to PSY!

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