Pop Culture Explained: What are ‘Extreme Sports’ and the X-Games?
For some people, regular sports like skiing, running, and soccer are not exciting enough. These people need adventure. They need more excitement. They need a bigger thrill. They need extreme sports.
What are extreme sports?
Kite-surfing
Extreme sports are sports that are exciting, different, and a little dangerous! They are sports where people push themselves to go higher, faster, and to do things that other people can’t do. They are mostly individual sports and people who enjoy doing these sports tend to be young and fearless! These sports often involve overpowering the environment, (like ice-climbing, sky diving, or kite-surfing).
Freestyle Skiing
Sports classified as extreme are always changing. People who enjoy these sports consider themselves part of a subculture: they are not part of the main culture or society. Once a sport becomes part of the main culture, like when it is recognized as an Olympic sport, it’s not as extreme anymore.
People who enjoy these sports call them simply action sports.
A halfpipe
*A superpipe has higher vertical walls.
These are sports that are dangerous. Athletes can seriously injure themselves if they’re not careful. In fact, just a few days ago freestyle skier Sarah Burke died after she fell trying a trick on the superpipe.
What are the X-Games?
The X-Games are the Olympics of extreme sports! They are held twice a year in the summer and winter, and are put on by the American sports channel ESPN. This year’s Winter X-Games take place in Aspen, Colorado. Over 4 days, there are different events in three sports: skiing, snowboarding, and snowmobiling.
The best athletes from around the world are invited to compete. They try to outdo each other with the biggest, highest, fastest, most difficult tricks. A trick is a stunt, an action like a jump, a flip, or a spin. Competitors are give a score for their tricks by a panel of judges. They compete to win medals (gold, silver, and bronze), AND a lot of money! They also try to impress the fans with never-before-seen tricks.
Vocabulary Spotlight on – The Chilean Mine Rescue
Were you glued to your TV watching the rescue of the Chilean miners? I was! It was amazing! The story of their survival and rescue is inspirational, and I was so impressed at how well organized the rescue operation was!
In English, Chile is pronounced exactly like the adjective ‘chilly’: / ‘tʃI.li /. People from Chile are Chilean / tʃI.’leI.ən /. Chilean is the adjective used to describe anything and anyone from Chile.
On Aug. 5th, 33 miners were trapped underground when a landslide caused a tunnel in the mine to collapse. More than 700,000 tonnes of rock blocked the entrance to the mine. The cave-in happened about 500m (m=metres) underground, and the miners were trapped 700m underground. The 33 miners were all together because it was their lunch break. They were eating lunch in an emergency shelter when the collapse occurred. It was a copper and gold mine called the ‘San José’ mine. In English, ‘San José’ = Saint Joseph. The mine is located in the Atacama desert, near the town of Copiapo in northern Chile.
Almost immediately after the cave-in, rescue efforts began. No one knew if the men were alive. Large drilling machines starting boring holes into the ground in an effort to find the men. On Sunday, Aug. 23rd, one of the miners tied a note to a drill bit (the end of a drill) that had reached the miners in an underground shelter. It was the first sign that the miners were alive.
Sixty-nine days after the cave-in, the miners were finally rescued. Each miner was brought up to the surface in a capsule. The capsule was pulled to the surface by a huge winch. Each miner was attached to the capsule in a harness. All the miners and rescuers were wearing hardhats to protect their heads.
Families and friends of the trapped miners camped out on a rocky hillside near the mine. They lived there the entire time the miners were trapped underground. They called it ‘Camp Hope’!
Mining is a very important industry in Chile. According to the CIA WorldFactbook, 30% of government revenue comes from copper mining alone.
More Reading:
Photo Gallery: Trapped Chilean Miners Underground (National Post)
Iron discipline that saw the 33 through (The Independent
Chile: First rescued miners to leave hospital
The story behind the Chilean miners’ Jesus T-Shirts (CNN Religion Blog)
Social Media Vocabulary Explained!
What are social media?
Social media is a new term in English. It is used to describe various websites or other forms of technology where people can connect and interact with one another and share information. Websites like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs are considered social media.
The term social media was introduced into English very recently. These new ways of connecting with people have led to new vocabulary and new uses of words in English.
1) Follow
When you visit someone’s Twitter profile, there is a button on it that says Follow:
Follow is a verb. It is an action. When someone clicks the ‘follow’ button, they become a follower. When you want to thank someone for following you, the correct phrase is ‘Thank you for following me!‘ (Remember, you cannot say ‘Thank you for (your) follow’ because for is not used before a verb)
However, in English to follow someone has a negative connotation – it means that someone else is a leader and you are a follower. To be a follower is also considered a negative action. A follower can be a supporter, but it can also be someone who obeys. This is why a lot of people say ‘Thank you for the follow,’ where follow is used as a noun. They are trying to avoid calling someone a follower. This is a new use of the word ‘follow,’ and it is only used this way on Twitter.
2) Direct Message
Message in English is a noun. You can send a message or messages. On Twitter, there is an option to send someone a private message. It’s called a direct message:
The correct phrase in English is “Send me a direct message” or “I’ll send you a direct message.” However, there is room for only 140 characters in a tweet, so people now use message as a verb: “Message me,” or the even shorter “DM me” / “I’ll DM you” (where DM = direct message).
Message seems to now be a verb for all forms of social media, not just Twitter. You can also ‘message someone’ on Facebook. To ‘message someone’ could also mean sending a text message / sms on your cell phone.
In English, friend is a noun. The verb be or become is commonly used with friend: “Let’s be friends!” or “We are friends!” On Facebook (and some other forms of social media) you can send someone a friend request: a request to become/be friends on Facebook. I often say ‘Thank you for the friend request!’ However, people have now turned friend into a verb: “Friend me on Facebook.’
In 2009, the Oxford American Dictionary chose unfriend as the word of the year. To unfriend someone means to remove them as your friend on Facebook. A synonym is defriend.
To friend and unfriend/defriend someone can also be used on any social media platform where you can add people as friends.
YouTube
On YouTube you can subscribe to someone’s channel. You can also invite someone to be a friend. To invite (someone to something) is a verb; it’s an action. An invitation is a noun. However, when you sign into YouTube, you will see:
Here, invite is used as a noun. This is unique to YouTube. This is why on YouTube you will see many people leaving comments ‘Thank you for the invite.’ They are thanking someone for sending them an invitation to be friends on YouTube. It should be, “Thank you for the invitation,” but on YouTube invite is now used as a noun.
“Thank you for the add.” or “Thank you for adding me.”
I have noticed this sentence being used on all forms of social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other networks like MyEC). It could mean anything! I think the general meaning is ‘thank you for adding me to your network.’ On Twitter, it could mean ‘thank you for following me;’ on Facebook it could mean ‘thank you for adding me as a friend;’ on YouTube it could mean ‘thank you for subscribing’ or ‘thank you for the friend invite.
I hope this helps explain some of the new words and different uses of words that you see on various social media. Are there any other words that you often see on social media that you’re not sure about? Please let me know!
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Vocabulary Explained – 911 and 9/11
In a recent private lesson, my student was talking about world events. She talked about the attack on 9-1-1 in NYC. I was confused at first, but then I realized she was talking about 9/11, not 9-1-1.
You may hear or see both of these numbers when you watch American TV and movies, read American magazines or books, or when you listen to American music. There is an important difference between these two numbers and it is important not to get them confused!
911
This number is said nine one one. It’s the emergency phone number in North America. This is the number to call in an emergency if you need the police, the fire department or an ambulance.
9/11
This number is said nine eleven. It represents the date September 11th. On September 11, 2001, a group of terrorists hijacked 4 airplanes and crashed them into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City, as well as the Pentagon in Washington D.C. (The 4th plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.) Almost 3000 people were killed.
When writing the date numerically, the numbers are separated with a backslash: / . This is what separates 9/11 from 911.
In Canada and America, there is no set form for writing the date numerically. However, most of the time the month is first: September 11, 2001 = 09/11/01.
Another number you might see or hear is 7*11. Seven eleven [7*11] is a convenience store in North America. It’s the kind of store that is open long hours (sometimes all night), and sells a little bit of everything, like food, drinks, newspapers, cigarettes, candies, magazines, and lottery tickets.
Pop Culture Explained: The Whisperer
Are you a big fan of the television show ‘The Dog Whisperer’ with Cesar Milan? What about The Ghost Whisperer? Have you wondered what they’re whispering?
In popular culture, a whisperer is someone who has an extraordinary ability to understand and communicate with troubled animals, people, or other beings, and can help to rehabilitate them or change their behaviour.
Where did this come from?
The idea of a whisperer became popular in 1995 because of a book written by British author Nicholas Evans. The Horse Whisperer was #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list and has sold over 15 million copies. It was made into a move in 1998 starring the popular American actor Robert Redford, who plays the horse whisperer. The movie was even more popular than the book and has grossed almost $187 million worldwide.
The book was based on the lives of real people – horse trainers who have a gift for helping rehabilitate horses traumatized by an accident or abuse. The skill of horse whispering dates back to the 19th century. A horse trainer was so successful at calming traumatized horses, people assumed he must be communicating in some way with the horse – and to some it looked like he was whispering to them!
The popularity of the book and the movie led to anyone who has an ability to talk to animals being called a whisperer. Cesar Milan is the Dog Whisperer who helps dogs with behavioural problems. (His catchphrase is “I rehabilitate dogs. I train people.”)
Over time it has become a ubiquitous term used to describe people who have an ability to communicate with any being that cannot otherwise talk. On TV, American actress Jennifer Love Hewitt plays the Ghost Whisperer, a woman who can communicate with the ghosts of dead people and helps them talk to the living. There is also an Angel Whisperer, and a Baby Whisperer. People who would otherwise be called consultants are also referred to as whisperers, for example a Lifestyle Whisperer.
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