폭탄영어 » From the News

Watch the American Presidential Debates!

Michael — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:19:02 +0000

An amazing way to present the American presidential debates is through the New York Times’ video presentation of the debates, where they present a full transcript of the debate WHILE it happens. I won’t explain it here — just go watch it. It’s amazing. You can READ the transcript WHILE the video streams.

1st Presidential Debate between Barack Obama and John McCain

1st Vice-Presidential Debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin

Mike and Jennifer on Arirang TV!

Jennifer — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:21:17 +0000

Mike and Jennifer were interviewed on Arirang TV, for a segment on expat bloggers! You can see the interview here:

Goodbye, George Carlin

Michael — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:01:35 +0000

George Carlin, one of America’s greatest comedians and comedic social critics, passed away on Monday. America will miss him.

Here’s several good stories (and radio reports) on George from NPR. RIP!

The next episode (coming tomorrow) will talk about…curses! 욕! Whoo hoo!

Too Many Models?

Jennifer — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:43:57 +0000

Are there too many foreign (especially western) models working in the Korean underwear modeling industry?

The Sports Chosun did a little . . .uh, research into the issue, and Korea Beat kindly translated it into English There’s also a discussion going on over at FeetManSeoul. The Grand Narrative has also talked about this topic in great detail, and found some research that says it’s not just underwear (PDF) that’s being hawked to Koreans using foreign faces. . .

Personally, nobody’s talking about what really interests me: Are the men in those underoos more likely to be foreign as well? Hmm, time to do some . . .uh, research.

The “Sex and the City Effect” on South Korea

Michael — Fri, 30 May 2008 08:21:42 +0000

Go read a post I wrote about Sex and the City on FeetManSeoul.com – good English practice, with Korean translation, too!

The Man Who Might Cure Cancer

Michael — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 20:49:23 +0000

Wow. Double wow. A cure for cancer within a few years? And from a retiree without a college education or medical background? You gotta watch this story. Truly inspiring, truly. You can also read the story while listening to the video. Also, you can double-click on any word, and the definition will pop up. Thanks, CBS News. This is great for English study!

That’s simply unbelievable. And I mean that in the sense of being incredulously hopeful, not cynically dismissive. Thank you, Mr. Kanzius. You just might be the man who saves billions of lives. And all from banging around pots in your kitchen.

Good Luck, Soyeon!

Michael — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:19:28 +0000

Michael의 편지가 OhMyNews에서 나온 건데 물론 꼭 영어에 대한 주제가 아닌데 우리 폭탄영어란 사이트를 운영하는 Michael의 친구이니까 한마디하고 싶었죠. 그래서 오마이뉴스에서 나온 거고요:

여기는 Part 1 / Part 2

Michael taped 3 interviews with her for the SeoulGlow show, of which this is the third. At this point, she has become one of the final two candidates, but the final decision had not been made…

이소연씨와 한 세번의 인터뷰 중 세번째 에피소드 입니다. 현재 최종 두 호보에는 들었지만, 아직 최종 결정은 나오지 않았습니다.

“The Political Costs of Primping”

Jennifer — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:25:32 +0000

In Episode 9 of Bomb English, Mike and I discussed Korean fashion and touched briefly on the fact that women in Korea really feel the need to look good, all the time. While American women overall probably spend less time, less often than Korean women, there’s still some pressure to “look good” for high-profile positions.

Even for women who keep their makeup and hairstyles minimal and easy to manage, it still usually takes women longer than men to get ready for the day. This means that women have to devote part of their time each day to preparing their physical appearance, which means that men are given more “productive” time each day – they can sleep or relax or work or read or whatever, while women are socially required to be working on looking a certain way.

Think about it . . . how much time does a Korean guy spend each day getting ready to go to school or work? What does he have to do?

Now, think about an average Korean woman? What does she have to do each day before she can head out the door?
An article in the LA Times and on Slate Magazine examines this idea by looking at what it means for the Democratic candidates for US president this election, so if you have some spare time, we recommend you give it a read.

The End of an Odyssey

Michael — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:22:24 +0000

I’m sad to report that Arthur C Clarke has died. We actually mentioned him just this week on our show. I had just rewatched 2001 (한국어 설명) very recently and was re-impressed with his vision for humanity.

If you haven’t seen this great film, I do suggest you watch it — it has just been re-released on special edition DVD and is truly one of the masterpieces of both science fiction literature, as well as one of the most important films ever made.

RIP, Mr. Clarke.

Soyeon Yi Is the REAL Spacegirl!

Michael — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:38:35 +0000

I wrote an article about Lee Soyeon’s having become the 1st astronaut, after Ko San was removed by the Russians. Soyeon deserves her place, and is an amazing candidate, but unfortunately, few people have had the chance to get to know her. Now, you can.

Here’s the link to the Ohmynews.com article I wrote about her, based on the ONLY interviews done BEFORE she was chosen. I think the interviews show just how qualified she is, as well as just how great of a representative she can be for the Korean people.

Made for a video podcast I started in 2006 called SeoulGlow, the videos are always subtitled so that any Korean or English speaker can watch them. Like Bomb English, it is good study material that is interesting content as well.

Enjoy!