The WBED Blog

TRIOS - a vocabulary puzzle - No.1

2010-02-26T16:36:00.001+07:00

For each set of three sentences, think of ONE word that can be used appropriately for all three sentences.

Trio #1
1. He was afraid that his revolutionary proposals would ___________ with strong opposition from hardliners.
2. The Chinese factories were operating non stop churning out shoes to ___________ the demand in Europe and the US.
3. With only 200 dollars a month, the family struggled to make ends ___________ .

Trio #2
1. The birds build their nests in early September and begin to ___________ their eggs two weeks later, always being on the lookout for predators.
2. The press speculated whether the new telecommunications company was going to ___________ cables on the seabed to improve the existing system.
3. One of my responsibilities at home is to ___________ the table in the evening.

Trio #3
1. It's irritating that they do nothing but ___________ lies about our family. The whole village is about to believe their incredible stories.
2. Don't allow the educational system to restrict your thinking abilities. I urge you to ___________ your wings and do things your way.
3. He opened the jar, took out some jam with his knife and ___________ it evenly on the warm toast.

Trio #4
1. Marijuana is not regarded as a ___________ drug. That's why some countries are thinking of letting people use it, at least for medical purposes.
2. It's ___________ to believe that there are no good people out there. I'm sure you can find some good-natured individuals in this area.
3. I'm trying to spare you learning things the ___________ way. Follow my advice and you don't need to make mistakes.

Trio #5
1. The latest ___________ in The New York Times was not favourable. He felt the morac was underrated.
2. At the end of your first year at work we will ___________ your salary and give you a company car.
3. The reclusive dictator showed up at a military parade to ___________ his troops and show his defiant opponents he was still in power.

Trio #6
1. Blankets and shelters were in ___________ supply in the aftermath of the disaster.
2. Nobody in this business knew his real name. He was called Bill for ___________ .
3. She reacted angrily when her name hadn't been included on the ___________ list.

Trio #7
1. Though the movie was widely ___________ across the country, the sales were a disappointment for the studio.
2. For a woman to get ___________ in the business world seems to be a tall order in a predominantly male environment.
3. This web site was shut down soon after the Internet provider realized it ___________ extreme views inciting violence.

Trio #8
1. Holmes immediately spotted two ___________ marks on the neck of the victim which he thought might have been left by a snake of some kind.
2. Don't ___________ the hand that feeds you. It was me who got you promoted and now, Ron, you're plotting behind my back. Shame on you!
3. 'Fred, can I have some of your apple?' 'Sure. Have a ___________ .

Trio #9
1. I'm absolutely ___________ the horse will win the race. There's no doubt about it.
2. It came as a shock to her husband when she tested ___________ for a sexually transmitted disease.
3. The guru stresses the power of ___________ thinking in his lectures, saying it helps to overcome problems and reduce strain.

Trio #10
1. It was one of the gang's members that ___________ the agent's cover as he'd seen him in uniform before.
2. Feeling tired, Lind put away the book, ___________ out the candle and went to sleep.
3. Separatists ___________ up several bridges in the province sending a violent message to the capital.

Cartoon: Calvin & Hobbes

2010-02-25T10:37:00.002+07:00

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Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Clicking on each cartoon will give you a bigger, clearer version to look at.

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WB-ED Murder Mystery 2010: Part One

2010-02-25T10:09:00.003+07:00

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The Inn at Death's Door - Chapter 1

You are in an open carriage, on your way from the airfield at Zurich. A vista opens up before you and there it is, nestled in the woods just ahead - the alpine inn where you'll be spending the night. It resembles a Swiss chalet, which is not surprising. You are, after all, in Switzerland, traveling on a rocky road that meanders within sight of the Rhine River in the frozen valley below.

But this is no chalet of fairy tale imaginings. The white of the gingerbread porches is the color of soot. The windows stare out like blackened eyes. And as the driver clicks his tongue and the horse pulls you onto an icy wooden bridge spanning a deep ravine, you realize something curious and unsettling. The driver is blind.

"Dobbin knows the way," he says, perhaps sensing your concern. You scold yourself for not having noticed this sooner. You are a private investigator, being paid to do nothing more than keep your eyes and ears open. This is not a good start.

You're the fifth guest to arrive, he tells you. A British officer, Colonel Mustard, showed up this morning feeling a little under the weather and taking his meals in his room. Three more arrived on the westbound train, having hired a motorcar taxi to bring them from the station. The others are expected tomorrow.

Dobbin pulls to a halt. The blind driver eases himself down from his seat and fumbles for your luggage. You grab it yourself and lead the way into the chalet. His name, you discover, is Fritz, and he's the innkeeper as well. The sightless man manages the entire inn with the assistance of one woman, his cousin, Bertha.

"It's not so bad," he says as he slips behind the desk and pushes the guest register your way. "Our guests are few. Mr. Ian Masque." He says the name with a shiver in his voice. "He provides most of our business." Fritz points out the window towards a craggy peak. "When people are coming and going to his chateau on the mountain."

This you know. In fact, it's the reason you're all here, arriving from the four corners of Europe. Ian Masque, the mysterious millionaire, the builder and owner of that fantastical chateau perched on an alpine ledge, has invited an assortment of guests to this remote corner of Switzerland to stay in his architectural masterpiece and usher in the new year. An assortment of guests plus you, a private investigator hired by mail, with no job but to mingle and remain alert and careful. What a way to celebrate New Year's Eve!

You sign the register and eye today's date at the top of the page. December 30, 1938.

A gentle dusting of snow falls through the dusky twilight, but the inn's main lounge is bright and cozy. Two of the guests sit by a corner window, chatting in hushed tones. Although the innkeeper's cousin is a sour, unpleasant woman, she's observant and loves to gossip. From Bertha's description, the man in the corner must be Calvin Fox, an American cabaret performer now living in Vienna. The woman so deeply in conversation with him is Marina Popov, a beautiful Russian expatriate who doesn't tip and seems captivated by the "black arts."

"She hypnotizes people and she knows things," Bertha told you, crossing herself like a good Catholic.

"Communicating with the dead is a sense, like smell." Marina is speaking English. "Their spirits speaks to your spirit. Perhaps you have such skills yourself. Would you like me to hypnotize you, Mr. Fox?"

"No, thanks," Fox chuckles. He's a large, ordinary looking man with a nervous tick that now and then twitches his left eye. "Are you a friend of Masque's? Is that why he invited you to his New Year's bash?"

"I've never met him," Marina replies. "An invitation arrived by post.

The vibrations were fascinating. And of course I've heard rumors about his extraordinary chateau. I'm not sure any of us knows our host personally."

"I've met him," a voice calls out.

Striding into the room is a cheerful gentleman with an impressive mustache and Vandyke beard. This must be Martin Urfe, an English aristocrat (according to Bertha). You take this opportunity to join the group and introduce yourself.

"I met Ian Masque at a party in London," claims Urfe. "Like you, Mr. Fox, I'm an entertainer, albeit an amateur." A closer examination of Urfe's clothing reveals a certain shabbiness. Stylish but frayed. "My passion is magic," he continues. "Masque saw me perform a few illusions for friends and immediately asked for my card. I'm afraid this is going to be a working party for me. My invitation came with a request to provide the New Year's Eve diversion."

"Mine, too," Fox laughs. "I tell you what, Urfe. You do us a magic trick and I'll sing you a song. It'll do us both good to practice."

It's all quickly arranged. Five minutes later and you're gathered in the library. Even Bertha and the blind Fritz are seated and ready to be entertained. Urfe wheels on a large box decorated with stars and moons, and begins his patter by asking for a volunteer. Fox jumps up, eager to help.

You've seen this trick before. Everyone has. The volunteer is placed inside and the lid is closed. Swords are stabbed through from every angle, their sharp tips emerging from the opposite sides. The box is then spun around again and opened with a flourish. And the volunteer has vanished.

You applaud and yell bravo. Then you watch as it's done in reverse. Swords are removed. The box is spun again. Urfe, you have to admit, has a nice dramatic flair. He swings the lid open and gestures for his volunteer to emerge. And this is where the trick is different.

Fox is still gone. The box is empty.

It takes everyone a full minute to realize that the magician is more baffled than anyone else. Martin Urfe checks the box's secret door, then checks behind the screen where everyone assumed Fox had been hiding. When he pulls the screen aside, you see that the cabaret artist has disappeared.

"Fox!" Urfe is shouting between clenched teeth. "Thank you for ruining the illusion. Fox, where are you?"

It must be a joke, of course. You wander through the inn's shadowy rooms, calling the missing man's name, but he doesn't answer. He's not in his room, not in any of the public rooms and you haven't a clue how he could have dematerialized without anyone catching a glimpse.

The good humor of the evening fades and a pall of unease, perhaps even dread settles over the small group. "He's still alive," whispers Marina Popov, her eyes closed in meditation. "Nearby. But I can't see where."

Your job, it seems, has already started. This is definitely something that needs to be observed by a trained investigator. You make another tour of the inn, then go outside and circle the perimeter. The thin crust of icy snow surrounding the building has not been disturbed.

"He's obviously still in the chalet," you inform the others. "Tomorrow we'll search again. It'll be easier in the daylight." Then you climb the creaky stairs and retire to your room on the third floor.

That night, December 30, the penultimate night of 1938, you sleep fitfully. A chorus of metallic clanks and ghostly moans seem to seep up through the vents. You tell yourself it must be the old chalet, groaning in the cold, its ancient boiler straining to provide heat. These tortured sounds are perfectly natural.

But you know, deep down, they're not.

Now it is time to proceed to The Inn at Death's Door - Chapter 2.

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The 2009 Stella Awards

2010-02-25T10:02:00.003+07:00

It's time again for the annual 'Stella Awards'!

For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's in New Mexico , where she purchased coffee... You remember, she took the lid off the coffee and put it between her knees while she was driving. Who would ever think one could get burned doing that, right? That' s right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.

Here are the Stellas for the past year:

* SEVENTH PLACE *

Kathleen Robertson of Austin, Texas was awarded $80,000 by a jury of her peers after breaking her ankle tripping over a toddler who was running inside a furniture store. The store owners were understandably surprised by the verdict, considering the running toddler was her own son.
Start scratching!

* SIXTH PLACE *

Carl Truman, 19, of Los Angeles, California won $74,000 plus medical expenses when his neighbor ran over his hand with a Honda Accord. Truman apparently didn't notice there was someone at the wheel of the car when he was trying to steal his neighbor's hubcaps.
Scratch some more....

* FIFTH PLACE *

Terrence Dickson, of Bristol, Pennsylvania, who was leaving a house he had just burglarized by way of the garage. Unfortunately for Dickson, the automatic garage door opener malfunctioned and he could not get the garage door to open. Worse, he couldn't re-enter the house because the door connecting the garage to the house locked when Dickson pulled it shut. Forced to sit for eight, count 'em, EIGHT days and survive on a case of Pepsi and a large bag of dry dog food, he sued the homeowner's insurance company claiming undue mental Anguish. Amazingly, the jury said the insurance company must pay Dickson $500,000 for his anguish. We should all have this kind of anguish. Keep scratching. There are more...

Double hand scratching after this one...

* FOURTH PLACE *

Jerry Williams, of Little Rock, Arkansas, garnered 4th Place in the Stella's when he was awarded $14,500 plus medical expenses after being bitten on the butt by his next door neighbor's beagle - even though the beagle was on a chain in its owner's fenced yard.. Williams did not get as much as he asked for because the jury believed the beagle might have been provoked at the time of the butt bite because Williams had climbed over the fence into the yard and repeatedly shot the dog with a pellet gun.

Pick a new spot to scratch, you're getting a bald spot..

* THIRD PLACE *

Amber Carson of Lancaster, Pennsylvania because a jury ordered a Philadelphia restaurant to pay her $113,500 after she slipped on a spilled soft drink and broke her tail bone. The reason the soft drink was on the floor: Ms. Carson had thrown it at her boyfriend 30 seconds earlier during an argument. What ever happened to people being responsible for their own actions?

Only two more so ease up on the scratching....

* SECOND PLACE *

Kara Walton, of Claymont, Delaware sued the owner of a night club in a nearby city because she fell from the bathroom window to the floor, knocking out her two front teeth. Even though Ms. Walton was trying to sneak through the ladies room window to avoid paying the $3.50 cover charge, the jury said the night club had to pay her $12,000.....oh, yeah, plus dental expenses. Go figure.

Ok. Here we go!!

* FIRST PLACE *

This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was: Mrs. Merv Grazinski, of Oklahoma City , Oklahoma , who purchased new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver's seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner's manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver's seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down?

...$1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home. Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just in case Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

Word Game available for Download

2010-02-22T12:00:00.007+07:00

Not so easy, but it's addictive! And it will expand your vocabulary.

The game has 5,000 words, so there should be enough to keep you scratching your head - and learning - for months.

It's easy to download and it's only a small file (6MB).

Click HERE to download.

Writing Style Guide - Part One - Active & Passive

2010-02-21T17:33:00.001+07:00

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Active & Passive

At its heart, news is about people doing things. Activity is interesting. Where you can, write sentences with subjects that are doing things, and not subjects that are simply receiving actions upon them.

Compare these two sentences:

A meeting will be held by the company’s directors next week.
The company’s directors will meet next week.

The first is an example of what grammarians call the passive voice; the second is the active voice.

Don’t be put off, it’s really very simple.

Active voice: A does B.
Passive voice: B is done (usually by A).

The active voice will help give your scripts some vitality and life. It can also make a weak sentence more emphatic and give it greater impact.

Compare these examples. The first is in the passive, the second active:

There were riots in several towns in Northern England last night, in which police clashed with stone-throwing youths.
Youths throwing stones clashed with police during riots in several towns in Northern England last night.

The there is,there are construction is overused. Why waste time stating that something exists when you could get on and describe the action? The imagery in the second version is so much more vivid and powerful and helps the audience to imagine what went on.

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DOING BUSINESS IN ASIA Part 2: JAPAN

2010-02-21T17:19:00.003+07:00

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A “poker face” is of great use in Japan. The Japanese dislike strong public displays of emotion. If you show shock or anger during business negotiations, they will believe that you lack self-control and are questionable as a business partner.

The Japanese negotiate in groups, usually in a team containing executives of different ageranges. Your team should have at least one senior member, and everyone must be sure to treat him with deference.

The younger members of your team should generally remain quiet and defer to their seniors during the meetings. Their real job will be to go out drinking with the Japanese team’s young executives at night. The Japanese like to convey important information (e.g., “Our boss was very angry at your offer today”) via junior executives.

It is useful to get Japanese executives away from their home base. In Japan, they can wait you out, hoping that you will agree to a disadvantageous deal because you are anxious to go home. The Japanese often agree to hold negotiations at a midway point. For example, when negotiating with North Americans, the Japanese often agree to hold meetings in Hawaii.

Hard-sell techniques will fail in Japan. Instead, find the points on which you and your Japanese counterparts agree, then build upon those. A positive, persuasive presentation works better with the Japanese than does a high-pressure, confrontational approach.

The Japanese may ask international visitors many questions— including information about your job, your title, your age, your responsibilities, the number of employees that report to you, etc. Japanese is a complex language with many forms of address and honorifics. They need a lot of information in order to decide which form to use when speaking to you. (Most of this subtlety will be lost when translated into English, but it is important to the Japanese.)

Have you had any experiences of meeting Japanese people? DOes any of the advice above apply to everyday interaction with them?

COMMENTS below.

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Branding Failures

2010-02-21T17:15:00.000+07:00

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The Greatest Branding Failures Of All Time

Culture Failures

Brands operate on a global scale. Brand names such as Nike, Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Gillette, Adidas, Disney, Marlboro, Sony, Budweiser, Microsoft and Pepsi are now recognized across the world. The dismantling of trade barriers, combined with the rise of global communications technologies such as the Internet, has meant that companies can expand into new markets faster than ever before.

However, many companies have confused the era of globalization with an era of homogenization. If they have had success with one product in one market they have assumed they can have equal success in another. All they believe they have to do is set up a Web site in the relevant language, run an ad campaign and set up a similar distribution network. What they forget to understand is that there is more to a country than its language, currency or gross domestic product. The cultural differences between, and often within, countries can greatly affect the chances of success for a brand.

In order to succeed, brands must cater for the specific tastes of each market they enter. If these tastes change, then the brand must change also. As the bumpy ride experienced by Kellogg’s in India (the first example included in this chapter) indicates, companies which fail to accommodate and acknowledge these vast cultural differences face a long battle in replicating their success at home in other markets.

However, understanding cultural differences is not just about international markets. It is also about understanding the specific culture of the brand. When companies acquire a brand that wasn’t theirs to begin with, they can often make similar faux pas as when they move into a foreign market. However, instead of making the mistake of misinterpreting the market they misinterpret the brand. This happened when CBS acquired the guitar company Fender and when Quaker Oats bought the soft drink Snapple. Although the companies spent millions on marketing, they lost market share as they didn’t understand exactly where the market was, and what the customer wanted. As a result, in both cases, the acquisition weakened the brand.

1. Pepsi in Taiwan

In order to keep a singular identity throughout the world, many companies stick with the same marketing campaign and brand message in every country. However, this occasionally creates difficulties. For instance, in Taiwan Pepsi’s advertising slogan ‘Come alive with the Pepsi generation’ was translated as ‘Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead.’

2. Schweppes Tonic Water in Italy

In Italy, a promotional campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water failed when the product name was translated as ‘Schweppes Toilet Water’. Subsequent campaigns have had better results.

3. Chevy Nova and others

Of all products, cars have had the most translation problems. When people chuckled at General Motors’ Chevy Nova in Latin America, the automotive giant was perplexed. Until, that is, someone pointed out that ‘Nova’ means ‘It doesn’t go’ in Spanish. Then there was the Mitsubishi Pajero sport utility that caused embarrassment in Spain, where ‘pajero’ is slang for ‘masturbator’. Toyota’s Fiera car proved controversial in Puerto Rico, where ‘fiera’ translates to ‘ugly old woman’. Likewise few Germans were enthusiastic about owning Rolls-Royce’s ‘Silver Animal Droppings’ car. To the English speaking world it bears the more romantic name ‘Silver Mist’. And finally, Ford didn’t have the reception they expected in Brazil when their ‘Pinto’ car flopped. Then they discovered that in Brazilian Portuguese slang, ‘pinto’ means ‘small penis’.

4. Electrolux in the United States

Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux raised a few eyebrows in the United States when it came up with the slogan ‘Nothing sucks like an Electrolux’. It later reworked its strap line.

5. Gerber in Africa

When baby food manufacturer Gerber started to sell its products in Africa it used the same packaging as for Western markets. This packaging included a picture of a baby boy on the label. Surprised at low sales, Gerber discovered that in Africa, as most customers can’t read English, Western companies generally put pictures on the label of what’s inside.

6. Coors in Spain

Coors beer had equally bad luck in Spain with its ‘Turn it loose’ slogan. It translated as ‘You will suffer from diarrhoea’.

7. Frank Perdue’s chicken in Spain

Sticking with Spain, US food brand Frank Perdue’s chicken campaign created confusion with the strap line ‘It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken.’ In Spain this became ‘It takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.’

8. Clairol’s Mist Stick in Germany

When Clairol launched its ‘Mist Stick’ curling iron in Germany, the company apparently had no idea that ‘Mist’ was a slang term for manure. The company discovered that few women were crying out for a manure stick.

9. Parker Pens in Mexico

Parker Pens alarmed its Mexican market with ads intended to read ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you’ because, in fact, the ad stated ‘It won’t leak in your pocket and impregnate you.’ The company had managed to confuse ‘embarrass’ with the Spanish verb ‘embrazar’ or ‘to impregnate’.

10. American Airlines in Mexico

When American Airlines decided to advertise the luxurious aspect of flying business class to their Mexican customers, they thought it would make sense to focus on the leather seats. They therefore used the slogan ‘fly in leather’ which, in Spanish, read ‘Vuelo en Cuero’. What the Spanish dictionary had neglected to inform them was that the phrase ‘en cuero’ is a slang term for ‘in the nude’. It soon emerged that there was little demand for mile-high naturism among Mexico’s business flyers.

11. Vicks in Germany

Vapour-rub manufacturer Vicks failed to attract much custom for its products in Germany. The problem was that ‘V’ is pronounced as an ‘F’ in German, meaning Vicks sounds like the German equivalent of the ‘f’ word.

12. Kentucky Fried Chicken in Hong Kong

KFC’s ‘finger lickin’ good’ slogan is used the world over to highlight the tastiness of the product. However, when the phrase was translated into Chinese for the Hong Kong market, it came out as ‘eat your fingers off’. Needless to say, most customers opted for the fries instead.

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LATERAL THINKING ON MARS

2010-02-21T17:09:00.001+07:00

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This was astronaut Jose Perez's fourth visit to Mars and he had learned to speak Martian. He wanted to find his Martian friend Doman, but in order to locate him he had to know what group Doman belonged to.

The three groups in the area were: Uti, Yomi, and Grundi.

The Uti always told the truth.

The Yomi always lied.

The Grundi sometimes told the truth but sometimes lied.

Perez needed information. Three Martians, Aken, Bal and Cwos, each of whom belonged to a different group, agreed to help him. He asked each one of them two questions:

What group do you belong to?

What group does Doman belong to?

1. Aken said: I am not a Uti. Doman is a Yomi.
2. Bal said: I am not a Yomi. Doman is a Grundi.
3. Cwos said: I am not a Grundi. Doman is a Uti.

What group does Doman belong to?

ERROR IDENTIFICATION #1

2010-02-21T17:05:00.001+07:00

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What's the wrong with each of the sentences below?

The answers are in the COMMENTS below. Be sure to try to find your own answers before looking at mine!

This large goat is only living in the mountains of Switzerland.
I call to thank you for the present you sent.
John is resembling his older sister.
The rise in demand for timber destroys large areas of rainforest.
I work at the University for over ten years now.
When have you got here?
Have you read a book called Accountancy Is Fun? 'Who has written it?'
Charles is a gifted footballer, but up to now he didn't play well in international matches.
We've seen Jean in town the other day.
Have you ever been to the opera when you lived in Milan?
I was meeting a lot of interesting people while I was working in Norway.
Being in large crowds was always making her feel nervous.
How long are you wearing glasses?
We've been staying with Paul and Jenny until last weekend.
That's twice I've been forgetting to bring my diary to work this week.
I've never been listening to any of Plop's music before.
The new bridge had been opened six months ago.
He just heard the news and was rushing home to tell his family.
When I saw the vase, I knew it was exactly what I had looked for.
I had been knowing Helen for a number of years.

No cheating. Agonize a while before checking the answers!

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WB-ED Murder Mystery 2010: Prologue

2010-02-21T16:34:00.005+07:00

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The Inn at Death's Door - Prologue

The Characters:

Fritz Thurgau

Frtitz Thurgau is the blind innkeeper at the mountain chalet where you and the other party guests are spending the night. A strict and remote man, Fritz manages the inn with only the help of his cousin, Bertha.

Bertha Thurgau

Bertha Thurgau is Fritz's cousin. A greedy and petty woman who notices everything and knows how to keep her secrets.

Calvin Fox

An American cabaret performer, now living and working in Vienna. A large, ordinary looking man with a nervous tick that occasional afflicts his left eye.

Mr. Green

Mr. Green lost his family fortune in the great crash and, from all reports, has been strugging to keep up appearances ever since. Though he looks and acts the aristocrat, rumor has it that he is desperate for something, anything to turn around his financial life.

Ian Masque

Little is known about Masque except that he owns the amazing chateau built atop the alpine mountain -- scene of this New Year's Eve party, 1938. He is rumored to be fabulously wealthy with an interest, and even a belief, in the supernatural.

Miss Scarlet

Scarlet had some kind of career acting, first in the West End, then to Hollywood. But apparently her chance at the big-time career slipped alway from her, and she is mostly known - if at all - for her work in a series of B-pictures. She is beautiful, but is she talented?

Marina Popov

Popov, a beautiful Russian expatriate, is a trained hypnotist. Popov participated in the Soviet Union's notorious experiments in ESP. It would take a mind reader to know why she is here at Masque's party.

Ms. Peacock

Mrs. Peacock left London after being involved in a messy romantic triangle with key political figures. Fleeing to America, the papers there reported on her affair with a businessman who was shot by his wife. Now she's back -- but is she just looking for more fun? .

Dr. Julia Kell

Kell is a German psychiatrist, one who obviously felt comfortable remaining in the Third Reich. Does she, in fact, work for the German government? There is no evidence that points to that yet. .

Colonel Mustard

Colonel Mustard held major commands in the First World War and, earlier, in Africa. His exemplary leadership was tainted with the accusations of profiteering that hit the tabloids at the end of the war. Rumor has it that any "profits" he stashes away have long since been consumed by his expensive lifestyle.

Martin Urfe

Martin Urfe is the heir to the busted Kent 'fortune' of Bloodworth Estates. He is also an accomplished amateur magician. Urge performs his elaborate (and impressive) illusions for his wealthy friends, including the host of the party -- Ian Masque.

Professor Plum

Professor Plum, formerly the Curator of the Egyptian Wing of the British Museum, published a series of articles in the Sunday London Times, which caused quite a stir. He claimed that there are major unexplained holes in the Egyptian historical record -- holes that he believes will be filled by major discoveries still to come.

Sabata

This single-named Spanish artist's hallucinogenic paintings are world famous. Ian Masque has acquired a lot of Sabata's most bizarre works. His behavior is eccentric, often even irrational -- as befits an artist.

Mrs. White

Mrs. White has had a long career as a nanny and maid, working for a number of high-profile families where discretion is valued almost as much as the necessary skills. Like most women who have worked at her craft, she has little, if anything, to show for it.

The Required Solutions:

1) Who killed Bertha Thurgau?

2) Who is on the yacht?

3) Where was Calvin Fox after his disappearance?

4) What clue revealed Fox's location?

Now it is time to read The Inn at Death's Door - Chapter 1.

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WORD PUZZLE - LETTER FIT

2010-02-21T16:30:00.002+07:00

INSTRUCTIONS: Place the words below into the puzzle grid above; each word only fits in one place.

3 Letters
Eye Gas Ink Kid Sea Ski

4 Letters
Cups Halt Iron Lamb Sell Tear

5 Letters
Based Drain Gases Heard Rests Still Their Units

7 Letters
Austria Leaders

University Life - Part 1 - Managing Your Learning

2010-02-21T16:29:00.001+07:00

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You've had one semester of this undergraduate thing...

Tips for the Terrified

computing

languages

maths

presentations

writing

Some people have a real phobia about the above areas, either because of bad experiences at school, or because they have never done them before. Here, if you need them, are a few basic tips to get you started. Beyond that, seek help from your teacher/trainer or find out if there are any courses or workshops you can enrol on. This is only a beginning…

Computing

Find someone to show you. Manuals and help-screens are often as complicated as the program itself, though your institution may have produced a simple guide.
Ask him or her to slow down. Computer people tend to do things too quickly.
Make sure you can get out of situations as well as into them. Always ask: how do I get back to where I was?
Keep a little notebook beside you and write down your own instructions. That way you will understand them properly.
Practise each operation two or three times to make sure you can really perform it.
Take your time. Speed is not important.
Don’t worry, you won’t break it.
Work at it regularly, otherwise you will forget.

Languages

Do a little often rather than a lot occasionally.
Take risks. You will make mistakes but you will learn from them.
Listen to tapes to get your ear attuned.
Read vocab lists three times: top down, bottom up and top down again. Then test yourself. If the list has more than 10–12 items, divide it in half and do the same.
Try imagining one change when you write or speak a sentence (present to past, statement to question, singular to plural, male to female, different adjective, etc). That way you will learn how to vary the patterns.
Keep an error book. Note down any repeated mistakes you make and cross them out when you no longer do.
Check your work before you hand it in.
Have a go.

Maths

In maths, if you do it right, you get it right.
Make sure you understand every little step. Don’t skip or gloss over
anything.
Make sure you are doing things in the right order.
Keep an error log of the mistakes you make. Cross them out when you no longer do.
Try to grasp the underlying principles rather than just jumping through hoops. If you don’t, ask, and if you still don’t, ask again.
Understand the purpose of it. Otherwise maths is just meaningless procedures.
Take your time. Except in some exams, speed is not important.
Check your workings. It is easy to make a slip.
Get a feel for the solution. Does it look right?

Presentations

Don’t put too much in. Maximum three key points in five minutes, five in ten minutes.
Keep a little bit in reserve near the end in case you look like running out.
List your main points at the start, preferably on a transparency; make the writing large enough; if you can’t write clearly, print.
Speak, don’t read. Have clear, large notes you can see at a glance, maybe on a card.
Project your voice and don’t drop it at the ends of sentences.
Look at people, and not just the front row.
If you want to get a discussion going, present conflicting views.
Provide a handout at the end that summarises it all.
Have your final sentence worked out so that you exit gracefully.

Writing

Make an outline of your essay/assignment first and leave it for a day or so.
Say what you are going to say in the introduction.
Build up your writing in paragraphs. State your main point at the beginning and then develop it through examples, evidence, questions, arguments and counter-arguments.
Don’t feel that the writing must be complicated just because it is an essay. Think: how would I explain this to someone?
Don’t let your sentences get too long or you may lose track of them.
If you are unsure about spelling, buy a compact dictionary and check.
Read a lot. It helps all other communication skills.
Don’t try to come to a firm conclusion if there isn’t one.

DOING BUSINESS IN ASIA Part 1: INDONESIA

2010-02-21T16:23:00.002+07:00

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Here are five general tips for foreigners wanting to do business in Indonesia. Do you agree with this advice? What advice would you give to a foreigner?

Be punctual to all business appointments. As a foreign businessperson, you are expected to be on time. However, it would be unrealistic to expect punctuality from all Indonesians, because promptness has not traditionally been considered a virtue. Furthermore, making people wait can be an expression of Indonesia’s social structure. It is the prerogative of a person of higher standing to make a person of lower rank wait, and it is very poor manners for a person of lower rank to show anger or displeasure toward a person in a higher station.

Even foreigners are expected to be late to social events. As a general rule, arrive about a half-hour late. But be aware that there is complex social interplay at social events. Some Indonesians will attempt to arrive later than lesser personages but earlier than more important guests. (For this reason, invitations to some events may state a time, but will add “please arrive fifteen minutes early.” This is to ensure that no one arrives after the most important guest.)

Indonesians show great deference to a superior. Consequently, supervisors are often told what they want to hear. The truth is conveyed in private, “up the grapevine”—often by a friend of the superior. Indonesians honor their boss by shielding him from bad news in public. This Indonesian trait, called asal bapak senan’ (which translates as “keeping father happy”) is instilled in Indonesians from childhood. A foreign executive must establish a network through which he or she can be told the truth in private.

Because Indonesians believe it is impolite to openly disagree with someone, they rarely say “no.” The listener is expected to be perceptive enough to discern a polite “yes (but I really mean no)” from an actual “yes.” This is rarely a problem when speaking in Bahasa Indonesia, because the language has at least twelve ways to say “no” and many ways to say “I’m saying yes, but I mean no.” This subtlety is lost when translated into many foreign languages, including English.

Indonesians are comfortable with silence, in both business and social settings. A silent pause does not necessarily signal either acceptance or rejection. Westerners often find such pauses uncomfortable, but Indonesians do not “jump” on the end of someone else’s sentence. A respectful pause may last as long as ten to fifteen seconds. Westerners often assume they have agreement and resume talking before an Indonesian has the chance to respond.

Feel free to add your ideas and suggestions in the COMMENTS below.

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Entering the NGO World

2010-01-27T11:12:00.006+07:00

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"Boost your English skills, broaden your topical knowledge, turn yourself into a more effective job applicant."

The Wisma Bahasa English Division announces a new course aimed at people who want to prepare themselves for a career or part time work in the Non-Governmental Organisation sector.

Twelve 2 hour sessions covering:

Intensive English practice with a native speaker using materials about development issues
Focus on how NGOs work and what NGO staff do
Skills and strategies for language learning and finding a job
Simulated application process: CV, letter writing, interview skills
Exclusive, interactive, customized daily blog for the duration of the course and as a permanent archive of materials for the class members
Certificate on successful completion of the course
Letter of reference to support future job applications

Participants need to:

have at least lower-intermediate English language skills;
be self-motivated and ambitious;
work well in an active, participatory, multimedia learning environment;
be seriously considering a career in the NGO sector, social work or similar employment

"We won't tell you what to think but we will tell you what to think about."

Limited places available!

See Course Details HERE.

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Minigopoly - The Rules

2009-09-28T14:52:00.004+07:00

The Inaugural Game of MINIGOPOLY

2009-09-10T08:00:00.005+07:00

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It was the first time that this brand new scaled down version of OLIGOPOLY was ever played and its first ever CHAMPION is Ike from "Dewi cs" class.

Wednesday 09-09-09 (what a great date for this momentous occasion!) the competitors in the famous "laboratory rats" game, from left to right: Yeyen, Ika, Dewi, Ike and Donan.

MINIGOPOLY differs from OLIGOPOLY in the following areas: board size, number of properties, number of dice used, when salaries are paid, how taxes are levied, the system used for elections, what makes inflation go up and down. In terms of 'feel', the two versions of the game are very similar. MINIGOPOLY takes 90 minutes to play while a full game of OLIGOPOLY takes three hours. Six is the maximum - and ideal - number of players for both games.

Inflation was "4" at the end of the game so all Corporations were valued at $400,000, and all Marketing Companies were valued at $200,000. Ike won with three Corporations, two Marketing Companies and $3,900,000 in cash. This gave her a total of $5,500,000 in assets. If inflation had been "6" at the end of the game then Dewi would have won because she owned five Corporations! It was a close result. Well played everyone. And well played to Ike who is the Wisma Bahasa's Inaugural Champion of MINIGOPOLY.

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UGM U202 Crew, Day Fourteen: 31st July 2009

2009-08-04T08:35:00.005+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: Round 11

Adrian told two stories: (1) "My wife and I have never discussed any of the girlfriends that I had before I met her". (2) "I once put chair legs in two guys’ lunches". From these two stories, one true, and one false, Adrian picked up 18 points and 'Everybody Else' 15 points (there were 14 students absent today!): the current score 180-163.

Can anyone tell the (untrue) story of the 'two chair legs' using the COMMENTS feature below? No more than 150 words. The best attempt will win a copy of the 1975 album "The Velvet Donkey" by Ivor Cutler.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Thirteen: 30th July 2009

2009-08-04T08:14:00.003+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Today we learnt about some very important life skills...

How to cross a piranha infested river
How to escape from a grizzly bear
How to avoid vampire bat bites in the wild
How to fend off a man-eating tiger
How to tell if a jellyfish sting is poisonous
How to escape from killer bees
How to escape from a deadly python’s grip
How to eat worms
How to eat animals after a nuclear explosion

Can you remember the answers? Comment below.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 18 - Revi

Revi told a story about how she made a film with my friends as a project in my junior high school. It wasn't true. Unfortunately for Revi 21 students thought the story was not true so she only scored 7 points.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 19 - Ohsy

Ohsy told a story about how, late one night, when she was still in 3rd grade of senior high school, she and her brothers were so hungry that they decided to go to McDonalds secretly. But she accidentally sounded the car’s horn and her father woke up. He brought a sword and her mum brought a bucket. He didn’t believe her lies about wanting to get a CD out of the car. And she talked about something else concerning a naughty ring tone on her mobile phone as well. She was punished by her dad. her mum… etc. etc. etc. And then her friend came etc. etc. The story was true and eighteen of her classmates knew it. Ohsy scored 10 points.

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Twelve: 29th July 2009

2009-07-29T19:13:00.003+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Some Commonly Used Idioms

Go back to the drawing board
Give [someone] the creeps
Cost an arm and a leg
Pay top dollar
Go belly up
Stab [someone] in the back
Keep your chin up
Right hand man
When pigs fly
Buckle down
Over my head
Blow it
Hit the books

SONG OF THE WEEK:

Loudon Wainwright III’s “Your Mother And I”

Your mother and I are living apart
I know that seems stupid,
but we weren't very smart
You'll stay with her, I'll visit you
At Christmas, on weekends,
and the summertime too
Your mother and I
are not getting along
Somehow, somewhere,
something went wrong
Everything changes,
time takes its toll
Your folks fell in love;
love's a very deep hole
Your mother and I will do
all we can do
To work this thing out
and to take care of you
Families get broken,
I know it's a shame
It's nobody's fault, though,
and you're not to blame
Your mother and I
are both feeling bad
But things will get better,
they won't stay this sad
And I hope when you grow up,
one day you'll see
Your parents are people,
and that's all we can be
Your mother and I

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Eleven: 28th July 2009

2009-07-28T21:32:00.007+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: Round 10

Adrian told a story about how he claimed to have collected 678 recordings of concerts by an American jamband called The Grateful Dead. There were quite a lot of questions and slightly more than half of the U202 Crew decided that Adrian was lying. However, regardless of how embarrassing it is for Adrian to have such a strange obsession, the story was in fact true! Adrian picked up 17 points and 'Everybody Else' 14 points: 161-138.

Wednesday, February 07, 2007
U.S. NEWS REPORTS...

ORLANDO, Fla. — A NASA astronaut accused of trying to kidnap a romantic rival for a space shuttle pilot's affections was charged with attempted first-degree murder Tuesday as her lawyer sparred with prosecutors to effort her release.

Lisa Marie Nowak was ordered released on $10,000 bail and told to wear an ankle tracking device. That is in addition to the $15,500 bail that was ordered for Nowak earlier in the day for the attemped kidnapping charges.

"The intent was there to do serious bodily injury or death," Orlando Police Sgt. Barb Jones, referring to a new steel mallet, knife, rubber tubing and large garbage bags that police found in Nowak's possession.

Police said Nowak drove 900 miles, donned a disguise and was armed with a BB gun and pepper spray when she confronted a woman she believed was a competitor for the affections of Navy Cmdr. William Oefelein, an unmarried fellow astronaut.

Oefelein, 41, piloted the space shuttle Discovery in December. He and Nowak trained together but never flew a mission together.

Nowak told police that her relationship with Oefelein was "more than a working relationship but less than a romantic relationship," according to an arrest affidavit. Inside Nowak's vehicle, which was parked at a nearby motel, authorities found a pepper spray package, an unused BB-gun cartridge, latex gloves and e-mails between Oefelein and Colleen Shipman.

According to authorities, Nowak believed Shipman was romantically involved with Oefelein, and when she found out Shipman was flying to Orlando from Houston, she decided to confront her early Monday, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak raced from Houston to Orlando wearing diapers in the car so she wouldn't have to stop to go to the bathroom, authorities said. Astronauts wear diapers during launch and re-entry.

Dressed in a wig and a trench coat, she waited for Shipman's plane to land and then boarded the same airport shuttle bus Shipman took to get to her car, police said. Shipman told police she noticed someone following her, hurried inside the car and locked the doors, according to the arrest affidavit.

Nowak rapped on the window, tried to open the car door and asked for a ride. Shipman refused but rolled down the car window a few inches when Nowak started crying, the statement said. Nowak then sprayed a chemical into Shipman's car, the affidavit said. Shipman drove to the parking lot booth and police were called.

According to NASA's official biography, Nowak is a Naval Academy graduate who has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering. She has a teenage son and younger twin girls.

Oefelein has two children and began his aviation career as a teenager flying floatplanes in Alaska, according to a NASA biography. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University and later earned a master's degree in aviation systems at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He has been an astronaut since 1998.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 16 - Nia

Nila told a story about how she split up with her boyfriend and when he said bad things about her, she beat him up with punch after punch and also by throwing things at him. There was something about the passion and energy of Nia's storytelling that made her peers think she was telling the truth! And - of course - she was! As a result - despite her very entertaining story - she only scored 8 points while 22 of her classmates picked up 1 point each.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 17 - Rian

Rian told a story about how he reckons he experienced bad karma – for annoying his friend with a practical joke using a padlock - when he had to cut a padlock when he found himself locked into his friend's house and the people with the key (his friend's parents) were away in Jakarta. Rian's story was true and 18 of his U202 friends thought so too. Therefore he only collected 12 points for his story.

CURRENT CALL MY BLUFF LEADERBOARD:

ELWIN.....38
RENDY.....31
UCEN......31
LUTFI.....30
RIFKI.....29
TENI......27
ALICE.....25
SANJUNG...25
SHAFA.....25
MARWAH....21
FEBRINA...18
RIAN......18
DILA......18
REZAA.....15
EGA.......15
NIA.......14
IRKA......12

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Ten: 27th July 2009

2009-07-27T22:04:00.005+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 9

Adrian told a story about how he once got mistakenly detained by police after an anti-Apartheid demonstration in London turned violent. Once the police established that he was not on the CCTV footage he was released. Crew u202 didn't buy it! They scored 24 points. Adrian only picked up 9 points. No more trash talk from Adrian... The Crew is cathing up, although Adrian is still winning: 144-120.

MORAL DILEMMAS...

A friend of yours is an artist. She hasn’t had a lot of success yet. She invites you to her first exhibition and obviously hopes that you will buy one of her paintings. They are not very good and they are not very cheap. Do you feel you have to buy one?

Your boss gives you expensive tickets to see a pop group in concert. You forget to make a note of the date in your diary or on the calendar and so you miss the show. The next day, your boss asks you how the show was. Do you tell him you missed it?

You order something from a mail order catalogue. After the item has arrived you receive a refund from the mail order company and a letter explaining that the item is out of stock. It seems that there has been some kind of computer error. Do you tell the company about their error and give the money back?

ANY OPINIONS? Use the "Comments" feature below.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 14 - Sanjung

Sanjung told a story about how he used to have a classmate who was a thief. He stole large amounts of money and many mobile phones. Eventually he was found out and then disappeared. It was true. But unfortunately for Sanjung, the class was more or less split down the middle, denying him the chance of registering a big score. Sanjung 17 v 15 Everyone Else.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 13 - Dila

Dila told a story about how she once went to Dufan and after she got off one of the rides she realised that her family wasn’t there. The security officers couldn’t find them so they rang her father and he was amazed to find that he had forgotten her when the family went home because of confusion about who was in which car. All lies! Eighteen classmates thought it was all lies! Dila scored 14 points.

ANY OPINIONS, THEORIES COMMENTS, COMPLAINTS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Nine: 24th July 2009

2009-07-27T20:24:00.006+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 8

Adrian told a story about how, for 15 years, 1991-2006, he drove a motorcycle in Indonesia without a valid driver’s licence. It was true, but only 12 students guessed right. Adrian scored 18 points: 135-100.

THE U202 CREW ON 24th JULY 2009
(missing: G, Neni Citra)

Photo can also be seen here.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 12 - Shafa

Shafa told a story about how when she was a brand new student in junior high school a guy called Gusur asked her to be his girlfriend and gave her melted chocolate. After they split, twenty four hours later, she found out that he had only “dated” her to win a bet with his gang friends. Shafa's classmates thought she was lying but she wasn't. She scored 20 points. Ten classmates picked up 1 point each.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 13 - Elwin

Elwin claimed he won first prize in a ‘modified car’ competition in the Sound System category. Just at the end of the questioning session, Alice - Elwin's friend - asked "Why didn't you tell me about that?" Adrian reckons this was a set up. And a clever set up, too. It gave the impression that Elwin was lying and that Alice's 'spontaneous' question gave the game away. Mmm. Who knows? It had the desired effect. Twenty six of the U202 Crew thought he was lying - but he wasn't! Elwin went straight to the top of the leaderboard with 34 points!

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, GOSSIP?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Eight: 23rd July 2009

2009-07-23T22:26:00.006+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody Else: 7

Adrian told a story about how he went along with his ambulance driver father to an accident and found an eyeball from one of the victims by the side of the road after a horrific motorway pile up. The students beat Adrian this time but the 18-12 scoreline didn't have a significant effect on this lead, which is 117-88.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 10 - Alice

Alice told a story about how she once pretended to faint so that she didn’t have to do a science test but the teacher knew she was faking it. The story was true but it fooled 18 students. Eleven others picked up a point for guessing correctly.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 11 - Rendy

Rendy told a story about when the 2006 earthquake struck Yogya. He ran out of his house wearing only a bath towel and he saw a naked woman running out of the boarding house next door. This was a massive success for Rendy and he scored 22-7. However Ucen guessed BOTH Alice's and Rendy's Call My Bluff stories correctly and holds on to a slim lead on 30, compared to Rendy's 29.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 11 Rounds:

Ucen ...... 30 points
Rendy ..... 29 points
Rifki ..... 26 points
Teni ...... 23 points
Lufti ..... 25 points
Alice ..... 22 points
Marwah .... 17 points
Febrina ... 15 points
Ega ....... 11 points
Rezaa ..... 12 points
Irka ...... 10 points

Daily Interview: Dius & Elwen

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.6 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

What are Dius' plans for the continuation of his basketball career?
Why did Adrian make a joke about Elwen getting kicked in the head by his mother?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Seven: 22nd July 2009

2009-07-22T13:18:00.009+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 8 - Teni

Teni told a story about how she, and all her schoolmates in Classes 1 and 2 of senior high school, were hazed by the students in Class 3. On one occasion Teni had her shoelaces cut as a punishment for wearing brightly coloured shoes and socks. She also had to give the bullies a halfa amillion Rupiah! Thanfully, it wasn't true. However, twenty people believed the story while the other eleven collected one point each.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 9 - Ucen

Ucen told a story about going fishing with his family in a remote place in Kalimantan. The next day, reading the Kaltim Pos, his mother found that a small girl had been attacked and killed by a crocodile later that same day in exactly the same river where they had been fishing. Ucen hesitated beautifully when answering a question about how old the child was and people suspected that he was lying. But he wasn't! This grim tale was true and only 6 students realized it. That gave Ucen a massive 25 points and shot him to the top of the Call My Bluff leaderboard.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 9 Rounds:

Ucen ...... 28 points
Rifki ..... 26 points
Teni ...... 23 points
Lufti ..... 23 points
Marwah .... 17 points
Febrina ... 14 points
Ega ....... 11 points
Irka ...... 10 points
Rezaa ..... 11 points

BBC HEADLINES...

* Astronomers have found water vapour in the atmosphere of a giant planet outside our Solar System.
* A Chilean judge has ruled that Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori should not be extradited to Peru.
* The Pakistani army says it has found 73 bodies inside a mosque compound in Islamabad, after fierce battles between soldiers and gunmen inside.
* A suicide lorry bomber has killed at least eight soldiers at a military barracks in Algeria - on the opening day of the All-Africa Games.
* A pizza delivery man killed by a bomb around his neck after apparently being forced to rob a bank was a conspirator, not a hostage, US authorities say.

Here is the sound file for you to download. (less than 1MB)

Additional questions:

GAS PLANET: What is the significance of this discovery?
ALBERTO FUJIMORI: In which country is Fujimori? Which country wants him extradited?
RED MOSQUE: What was this fighting about?
ALL-AFRICA GAMES: Why weren't the games cancelled?
EXPLODING PIZZA DELIVERY MAN: Why couldn't the Bomb Squad deactivate the bomb?
Can anyone figure out which YEAR these news headlines come from?

Daily Interview: Febrina & Fani

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.9 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

What are Febrina's and Fani's opinions about traditional beauty and the 'Indo' look?
WHen I asked them if they wanted to send out a special message to any of the guys in U202 Crew, how did Febrina and Fani respond?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Six: 21st July 2009

2009-07-21T20:27:00.007+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 6 - Lutfi.

Lufti told a story about how he went up to Puncak with his friends. On the way back they were caught in a heavy rainstorm. They stopped at a petrol station and he realized he'd lost his wallet while he was at Puncak. He said he had to borrow money from a friend in order to pay for the fuel. Nineteen of his classmates believed this untrue story. Ten were not fooled. But it was enough to give him second place behind Rifki.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 7 - Ega

Ega told a story about how she applied to NTU SIngapore and got accepted. However her parents would not allow her to go there and insisted that she go to university in Yogyakarta instead. Ega seemed to be doing very well with this story - everyone was listening very intently - but then it all went wrong when she seemed to stumble over the question of how much she had to pay for the application process and how much money someone else had taken from her ATM to make the payment. Of course, it was all a lie. Unfortunately only nine students believed Ega and the other twenty one picked up one point each.

Call My Bluff:
Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard
after 7 Rounds:

Rifki ..... 25 points
Lufti ..... 22 points
Marwah .... 17 points
Febrina ... 13 points
Ega ....... 11 points
Irka ...... 9 points
Rezaa ..... 9 points
Rian ...... 5 pts
Atha ...... 5 pts

Call My Bluff

Adrian v Everybody: Round 6

Ouch! It turns out that Adrian WAS mugged on a London street in 1990 by two teenagers who squirted bleach in his face. 22 points for Adrian, 8 for "you lot". Harr harr harr! (evil laugh)

Daily Interview: Ohsy & Ucen

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.1 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

Who are Ohsy's favourite musicians or bands?
Who are Ucen's favourite musicians or bands?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Five: Friday 17th July 2009

2009-07-17T14:53:00.008+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 4 - Febrina.

Febrina told a story about how her neighbour's house burnt down but luckily her own house was undamaged. It happened on a holiday, at about 9am or 10am, and was caused by an exploding gas cylinder when the stove was being used to cook food for the celebrations. No one was killed but the whole episode was a shock. The story was true. Ten classmates were fooled.

Call My Bluff

Peer Group Pressure: Round 5 - Rifki.

Rifki told a story about how he was on his way to buy a dynamo for a his model car with money he had stolen from his parents. He was driving his motorbike with his friend riding pillion. Then, when he was turning a corner, he was distracted by a beautiful girl walking along the pavement, and he crashed. The story was not true. Twenty three classmates thought it was.

Call My Bluff: Peer Group Pressure Leaderboard after 5 Rounds:

Rifki 25 points
Marwah 16 points
Febrina 13 points
Irka 8 points
Rezaa 7 points
Rian 4 pts

On 3 points: Wardah, Arlin, Neni, Rendy, Atha, Elwin, Giesta.

On 2 points: Oshy, Ucen, Alice, Nia, Citra, Cendra, Lia, Dila, Ega, Yoga, Fani, Lufti, Teni, Icha, Nior, G.

On 1 point: Shafa, Diora, Revi.

SONG OF THE WEEK....

The Weakness In Me

by Joan Armatrading

I’ m not the sort of person
who falls in and quickly out of love
But to you, I gave my affection,
right from the start.
If I have a lover who loves me -
how could I break such a heart?
Yet still you get my attention.

Why do you come here, when you know
I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me, when you know
I can't answer the phone?
Make me lie when I don’t want to,
And make someone else
some kind of an unknowing fool?
You make me stay when I should not?
Are you so strong or
is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you -
I need to hold you -
tightly.

Feeling guilty, worried,
waking from tormented sleep
This old love has me bound,
But the new love cuts deep.
If I choose now, I'll lose out;
One of you has to fall...
And I need you, and you ...

Why do you come here,
when you know
I’ve got troubles enough?
Why do you call me,
when you know
I can’t answer the phone?
Make me lie I do not want to,
And make someone else
some kind of an unknowing fool?
You make me stay when I should not
Are you so strong or
is all the weakness in me?

Why do you come here,
and pretend to be just passing by?
I need to see you.
And I need to hold you - tightly

Should I post the mp3 of this song here for members of U202 Crew to download? Which version would you prefer? The original imperfect, vulnerable, fragile, genuine woman with heartache and confusion, ie. the version by the song's composer Joan Armatrading? Or the digitally perfect, vocally acrobatic, highly commercial, American Idol-like, mechanical, professional, anonymous R&B version by charge by the hour cover version specialist Keisha White? Requests and suggestions on the COMMENTS below please...

Daily Interview: Sharfa & Marwah

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.4 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

What did Sharfa say when Adrian asked her if she was clever?
What did Marwah say when Adrian asked her if she was clever?
Why has Sharfa lived all around the island of Java?
Why has Marwah always lived in Yogya?
What do Sharfa and Marwah think about the 'Miss Indonesia "Scandal"'?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Four: Thursday 16th July 2009

2009-07-16T13:00:00.007+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff
Peer Group Pressure: Round 3 - Marwah.
Marwah told us a story about how she was once mixed up with girl's gang and got into a fight when she was trying to help one of her friends in a nightclub. This turned out to be the most successful Call My Bluff story yet. Perhaps nobody who looks at Marwah can imagine her as a gangster and a bully. Let's hope her parents don't read this blog!!! She tricked sixteen people and only ten correctly guessed that her story was true. This puts Marwah in the lead with a score of 16, followed by Irka on 7 and Rezaa on 6. The chasing pack, all on 3 points, comprises Atha, Rifki and Rian.

Call My Bluff
Adrian v Everybody: Round 6.

A massive victory for Adrian today. He played U202 Crew a song called "What's The Matter Fiona?" After a short discussion about what the song was about, Adrian suddenly stated that he had written the song - although it was not him performing it. It was a true story and Adrian answered all the questions honestly. However, only four students believed him - while twenty three though he was lying. Current Score: Adrian 83, Everybody Else 62.

Download "What's The Matter Fiona?" HERE 2.8MB

Will someone tell me what is happening here?
Something funny is going on
I say hi and you say bye bye
Nothing ever happens in between

I'm no fool, I'm no fool, I'm no fool
But I'd like to hear you
Say it to me

What's the matter Fiona?
Everything's confused
Didn't know what I was coming to
But I know where I'm going

Hi hi hi, how are you today?
How's you father? How's your mother?
What's your name?
I could make up excuses and leave
But that might start a conversation

I'm no fool, I'm no fool, I'm no fool
But I'd like to hear you
Say it to me

What's the matter Fiona?
Everything's confused
Didn't know what I was coming to
But I know where I'm going

I write poems that I don't understand
And smile at people I don't even like
You ask me if I've done my work for tomorrow
Little do they know
I won't be here tomorrow

I'm no fool, I'm no fool, I'm no fool
But I'd like to hear you
Say it to me

What's the matter Fiona?
Everything's gone wrong
Didn't know what I was coming to
But I know where I'm going
I know where I'm going
I know where I'm going
I know where I'm going

Daily Interview: Rendy & Sanjung

(someone needs to be fired - either the photographer or the modelling talent, I don't care - but someone needs to lose their job over these terrible photographs!)

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 2.2 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

What is the 'issue' with Sanjung's glasses?
How tall is Rendy? So... what sport does he play?
What is Sanjung's favourite TV programme?
Why was Rendy disappointed with Metro TV news?
What do they think about the 'Miss Indonesia "scandal"?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Three: Wednesday 15th July 2009

2009-07-15T13:00:00.007+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff
Peer Group Pressure: Round 2 - Rezaa.
Rezaa told a story about going to Manado and eating in a branch of Pizza Hut in the airport with his cousin. According to Rezaa, he got a 15% discount because he spent more than Rp.50,000. Unaffected by the sheer excitement and drama of this story, the rest of U202 Crew put Rezaa under a lot of pressure with their tough questioning... What did you eat? What kind of pizzas did you order? Did you pay cash? Why were you in Manado? Where did you go in Manado? etc. etc. Only six classmates thought Rezaa's story was true and they were wrong. Everybody else knew it was a bluff.

Peer Group Pressure Scoreboard after 2 Rounds:

Call My Bluff
Adrian v Everybody: Round 5.

Adrian told a story about being hypnotized for some kind of postgraduate research project. He claimed that under hypnosis he was able to remember the names of all the shops, in more or less the correct order, along 1,000 metres on one side of a city street. Thirteen U202 Crew members thought it was true. The rest thought it was a bluff. And the 'rest' were right!

Current Score: Adrian 60, Everybody Else 58. This means Adrian is winning and is better than U202 Crew. Adrian has got the higher score. U202 has got the lower score. So Adrian is winning. Understand?

Daily Interview: Cendra & Giesta

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.4 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

What has happened to Cendra's Surabaya accent?
How does Giesta know when she's talking to someone from Jakarta?
If everyone thought Boso Jowo was trendy what words would they be using for "I" and "you"?
What is the Indonesian saying that means the same as "When in Rome, do as Romans do"?
Do the two interviewees ever record themselves speaking in English?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day Two: Tuesday 14th July 2009

2009-07-14T13:57:00.005+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff
Adrian v Everybody: Round 3.

Adrian told a story about getting a job at a fish and chip shop when he was a student. He said that he got fired after about 6 minutes! The boss asked him to take a live lobster out of the tank and put it in boiling water. Doing this keeps the lobster pink. If the lobster is already dead when it is put in the boiling water, it goes grey. Anyway. Adrian refused to do - because he didn't like being cruel to animals - and he was sacked.

Twenty members of the U202 Crew did not believe Adrian's story and they were right. However, he did pick up 9 points from the nine students he fooled.

Score: Adrian 47, Everybody Else 40.

Call My Bluff
Peer Group Pressure: Round 1 - Irka.
Irka told a story about going to Jakarta as a contestant in the National Chemistry Olympiad and winning a gold medal. This was all despite the fact that chemistry had previously been his weak subject and he'd been forced to take some extra lessons to catch up. Nia seemed to catch him out with a question about where he'd stayed. He couldn't remember. Perhaps that made his peers suspicious. Only seven believed him. Everybody else - twenty three students - correctly said his story was false and got one point each.

Daily Interview: Teni & Arlin

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.1 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as a FREE USER.

Questions...

Which part of Jakarta is Teni from?
Where do Arlin's parents come from?
What is Teni's opinion about Miss Indonesia 2009?
What is Arlin's opinion about Miss Indonesia 2009?
What is Adrian's opinion about Miss Indonesia 2009??
What was the discussion about photos at the end of the interview?
What is Adrian's plan for Sanjung's photo?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

UGM U202 Crew, Day One: Monday 13th July 2009

2009-07-13T13:41:00.009+07:00

"U202 Crew" are the participants in the 2009 Intensive Preparation Programme of the International Undergraduate Programme, in the Faculty of Economics, U.G.M.

Call My Bluff
Adrian v Everybody: Round 1.

Adrian told a story about meeting a childhood friend called Andrew, by chance, at Singapore airport transit lounge, with whom he had had no contact whatsoever for seventeen years since graduating from high school. Adrian and Andrew chatted about old times for two hours before Adrian (en route from Japan to the U.K.) caught his Singapore Airlines flight to London and Andrew (en route from Australia to the U.K.) caught his British Aiirways flight to London. They exchanged phone numbers but never got in touch with each other again. Some friendships last forever. Others come and go.

The class was pretty evenly split. Fifteen thought it was a true story; fourteen thought it was a bluff. In fact, Adrian made it up completely.

Call My Bluff
Adrian v Everybody: Round 2.

Adrian told a story about how he once cooked an Indian curry for His Royal Highness Prince Edward, son of Queen Elizabeth II, brother of Prince Charles. It happened back in 1985 when Adrian and Prince Edward were in the same theatre play together and after the production finished there was a dinner party for all the cast and crew at Adrian's house. Members of the U202 Crew seemed to have zero knowledge about the British royal family!

This time the class was mostly unconvinced by Adrian's story. Twenty three thought it was a lie. Only six thought it was true. And those six were right!

Ouch! It seems the U202 Crew have not got off to the greatest of starts!

Daily Interview: Yoga

Download the mp3 audio file CLICK HERE 1.23 MB

Be sure to download from Rapidshare as FREE USER.

Questions...

Which part of Jakarta is Yoga from?
Why did Yoga decide to go to university in Yogya?
Does he have any family in Yogya?
Where is his boarding house?
Does it have strict rules?
Why was paying 3 months in advance a risky thing to do?
Who lurking suspiciously during the interview?
Why doesn't Adrian like Jakarta?
Why doesn't the Jakarta weather matter to Adrian?

ANY OPINIONS, COMMENTS, ANSWERS?

Use the "Comments" feature below.

Oligopoly

2009-06-26T10:42:00.005+07:00

There was controversy in the latest game of Oligopoly at the Wisma Bahasa English Division. Oligopoly is a brilliant business strategy game in which players try to amass the most assets from buying and selling property and exercising political power. It was designed and developed by Wisma Bahasa's teachers and every time it is played it is quite a big event for all involved. The latest game saw native speaker Adrian Coen destroy his opponents with a comfortable win while at the same time acting as the students' mentor, teacher and business advisor.

Yuan finished with $10,400,000

It is rumoured that the controversy may result in the Wisma Bahasa moving to a different building in the near future. Oligopoly commentators have pointed out that Adrian wasn't facing heavyweight Oligopolists Prima and Fajar, who have many big wins under their belts, and so his victory last night against students Erdi and Diana, and Wisma teacher Yuan. "This doesn't really count for much in the real world," said one Wisma insider close to Prima.

Erdi finished with $11,650,000

Adrian dismissed these comments. "We played 33 Rounds in two and a half hours. I had the game sewn up by Round 20 or 22. Nobody realized I had so many silver balls in my soup bowl. I was awesome. Prima and Fajar's publicity people are just playing mind games ahead of the big teachers' game which will take place sometime in the next fortnight."

Diana finished with $13,900,000

Adrian finished with $17,970,000

Have YOU played Oligopoly yet?

Ask your teacher about it.

Happy Birthday to....

2009-06-19T14:07:00.005+07:00

Sunardi, S. Pd 16th June

T. Khairil Azmi 16th June

Mukti Heliyati, S.E 18th June

Many Happy Returns of The Day!

2009-06-14T22:18:00.000+07:00

Happy Birthday to Wisma student Arnold A. Mangalik!

This is INTERNET FRAUD No.3

2009-06-13T18:06:00.003+07:00

Oh! I seem to have won the lottery...

The Desk of Foreign International Remittance Department HSBC Bank Of London Remittance/Credit Manager: Mr. Van Bruce

Attention: Mr.Sanjay Khosla

How are you today?. Note that your total prize claim of £1,350,000.00{One Million Three Hundred and Fifty Thousand Pounds Only). has been insured to the real value and as such cannot be deducted from. This is in accordance with section 13(1)(n) of the national gambling act as adopted in 1993 and amended on 3RD July 1996 by the constitutional assembly.

Your transfer has been processed and we are only waiting confirmation of the payment, but due to the fact that we would keep your money on hold for more than 24 hours, I advice you that you can pay to an agent’s account in India so as to facilitate the immediate transfer of the fund before the end of the day.

The account is thus:

BANK NAME: ICICI BANK INDIA,
S/B ACCOUNT NAME:J.LAL MAL SAWMI
ACCOUNT NUMBERS: 007101522406
BRANCE CODE: NEW DELHI

We hope to make the transfer as soon as we have confirm the receipt of the payment within 48 hours time frame. Send to us the proof of payment as soon as the payment has been made so that we shall make your transfer.

Accept of modest congratulations.

Yours faithfully,
Mr.Van Bruce
(Remittance/Credit Manager)

Just about everybody's received one of these, right? How can you tell it's a fraud? Thoughts and opinions in the COMMENTS below please.

This is INTERNET FRAUD No.2

2009-06-13T17:46:00.002+07:00

Take a look at this one.

Dear Friend,

URGENT BUSINESS PROPOSAL

It is my great pleasure in writing you this letter on behalf of my colleagues. Your particulars were given to me by a member of the South Africa Export Promotion Council (S.E.P.C) [NOTE 1] who was with the federal government delegation to your country during a trade exhibition. I have decided to seek a confidential co-operation with you in the execution of the deal described hereunder for the benefit of all parties and hope you will keep it as top secret [NOTE 2] because of the nature of this business.

I am ENGR. PAUL MABUZA [NOTE 3]. Director Of Project Implementation, South Africa Department of Minerals & Energy I am making this contact with you, based on the committee's need for an individual/company who is willing to assist us in the execution of this business. Within the Department of Minerals & Energy, where I work as a Director of the Project Implementation and with the good co-operation of four other top officials, we have in our possession as over due payment bills, totaling Twenty One Million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars (US$21,500,000) [NOTE 4]. Which we want to transfer abroad with the assistance and co-operation of A Foreign Company/individual to receive the said funds on our behalf. More so, we are handicap in these circumstances, as the South African Civil Services code of conduct does not allow us to operate an offshore account. Hence your importance in this transaction.

This amount $21.5Million represents the balance of the total contract value executed on behalf of my ministry by a Foreign Contracting Firm, which we the Officials over invoiced deliberately. Though the actual contract cost has been paid to the original contractor, leaving the balance in the tune of the said amount, which we have in principles gotten approval to remit by Key Tested Telegraphic Transfer (K.T.T). to any Foreign Bank Account you will provide by filing an Application through the Ministry Of Justice here in South Africa, for the transfer of rights and privileges of the former contractor to you. [NOTE 5]

I have the Authority of my partners involved to propose that you should be willing to assist us in this transaction, your share of the sum is 30% of the $21.5Million, 60% for us and 5% for taxation and miscellaneous expenses and remaining 5% will be for charity organization. The transaction itself is 100% safe, on your part provided you treats it with utmost secrecy and confidentiality. Also, your area of specialization is not a hindrance to the successful execution of this transaction. I have reposed my confidence in you and hope that you will not disappoint me. I want to assure you that my partner and myself are in the position to make the payment of this claim possible, provided that you can give us a very strong assurance and guarantee that the funds will be secured and please, remember to treat this matter very confidential, because we will not comprehend with any form of exposure as we are still in active Government service.

Please, reply me on my confidential email address: mabuza_p07adb@yanoo.com [NOTE 6] or call / fax your response directly to my. Tel: 27-73-714080 OR Fax No.:27-11-507 6944.
Once again, remember that time is of great essence in this transaction . I wait in anticipation of your fullest co-operation.

Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours Faithfully, ENGR. PAUL MABUZA

NOTE 1: They seem to think that these bracketed initials will impress, and use them often.

NOTE 2: He does not want you to talk to a friend who might know all about these scams.

NOTE 3: They like to give themselves a title! Engr., Barrister, Pastor, Dr., are favourites.

NOTE 4: About average for a fraud e-mail.

NOTE 5: It all sounds very straightforward, but once the bait is taken the scam becomes more convoluted and the victim will be asked to send money for "legal fees" or "insurance" to a newly introduced fictitious firm. This is the advance fee, hence "the Advance Fee Scam". Western Union will be the criminal's money transfer agency of choic

NOTE 6: So confidential that he has mailed it to potential victims around the world!

Have you ever received an e-mail like this one? Tell us about it in the COMMENTS below.

This is INTERNET FRAUD No.1

2009-06-13T17:26:00.002+07:00

I got this in my e-mail InBox today...

Dear Customer,

Due to recent account takeovers and unauthorized listings, St.George is requesting a new account verification procedure. From time to time, randomly selected accounts (seller and/or buyer) are placed under an advanced updating process based on merchant relationsand on-file credit cards. St.George may also request in an email message scanned/faxed copies of one or more photo ID's. Your account confirmation may go wrong if your credit card has expired, or if you have changed/replaced your credit card without letting us know about the change.

Your account is not suspended, but if in 36 hours after you receive this message your account is not confirmed we reserve the right to terminate your St.George subscription.

If you received this notice and you are not an authorized St.George account holder, please be aware that it is in violation of St.George policy to represent oneself as an St.George user. Such action may also be in violation of local, national, and/or international law.

To confirm your identity with us click HERE … http://xxx

This mail is generated by an automated service.
St.George Limited ABN 92 055 513 070 AFS Licence No. 240997

St.George sent this e-mail to you because your Notification Preferences indicate that you want to receive information about Special Events & Promotions.St.George will request personal data (password, credit card numbers) only on our home site, wich is securely incrypted with SLL.

Replies to this mail are not read by St.George customer service or technical support.

What are your thoughts on this? Have you ever received something like this? What did you do?

Use the COMMENTS below to share your experience.

Happy Birthday to Jhon and Marjunita

2009-06-12T15:43:00.010+07:00

Hvae a very hpapy bhiatdry ever to thsee hppay-gettnig oledr-pelope :)

Marjunita 12th June

Jhon Ikiak Tebai 12th June

=Many happy returns of the day=

Logic on the Planet Wong: Chapter 1

2009-06-11T18:21:00.005+07:00

After our spaceship landed on Planet Wong, we got out, climbed down the ladder and stood on the dusty planet's surface. We scanned the surrounding landscape for a few moments.

Then we started walking towards the two moons that were close together and low down near the horizon, one noodle coloured and the other one the same colour as gudeg.

After walking for a few minutes we saw a native of the planet - a Wong - and we approached her. "Are we going in the right direction for the Planet Wong Tourist Information Office?" we asked.

The Wong thought about our question, looked around for a moment, and then she rubbed her stomach.

Now we knew that the Wongs could understand some English, but were unable to speak it. And we, like everybody else back on Earth, could neither speak Wongish nor understand Wongish hand signals or gestures.

And we had a problem. We didn't know whether rubbing the stomach meant yes or no. But by asking one additional question, we were able to find out.

What was that question?

Do you know?

Answers in the COMMENTS please.

Received Wisdom - Father & Son

2009-06-11T18:13:00.005+07:00

Moral Dilemma #3

2009-06-11T17:44:00.003+07:00

A friend of yours called Prunella starts to tell you a story about a man she knows. She doesn't mention his name. She obviously dislikes this man very much. The story is full of ugly details. She mentions how she thinks he has stolen money. She mentions how he has cheated on his fiancee. And she has more things to tell. Terrible things. Lots of details. This is truly hot gossip you are hearing. And you suddenly realize she's talking about your brother. What do you do next?

Thoughts and theories in the COMMENTS below.

Mastering the English (Texting) Language! No.1

2009-06-11T17:31:00.002+07:00

Here is a text message from one American to another.

Can you understand it?

My smmr hols wr CWO T. B4, we used 2go 2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :-@ kids FTF. ILNY , it’s a gr8 plc.

Answers in the COMMENTS below.

Spot The Error #4

2009-06-11T17:14:00.002+07:00

Can you see the mistake on this cafe's roadside sign board?

Answers in the COMMENTS below if you please!

Cartoon - Fussy Eater

2009-06-11T17:12:00.002+07:00

What is the Green Map organisation?

2009-06-11T17:00:00.004+07:00

This is a follow up on the article below about the Borobudur Green Map programme which could have an impact on up to 20 villages in the vicinity of the old Buddhist temple and famous tourist attraction.

You can find out about Green Map here.

This is their mission statement...

Engaging communities worldwide to chart a sustainable future - for all of us!

Green Map System empowers a diverse global movement mapping green living, nature, social and cultural resources in cities, villages and neighborhoods in over 50 countries.

Developing local sustainability networks, we expand the demand for healthier, more vibrant communities with our adaptable mapmaking tools and universal icons, multi-lingual participatory websites, workshops and regional hubs.

Working collaboratively since 1995, Green Maps bring people of all ages together to discover, share and care for their communities. Get involved and support this award-winning perspective-changing movement.

Miss Indonesia 2009 promises "I will learn Indonesian"

2009-06-11T16:03:00.007+07:00

Beauty pageant winner’s answer in English has caused controversy in her "native" Indonesia.

The winner of the Miss Indonesia beauty contest has pledged to brush up on her Indonesian language skills after raising eyebrows for answering the pageant judges' questions in English.

Kerenina Sunny Halim, a 22-year-old teacher who has an American mother and an Indonesian father, beat 32 other contestants to be crowned Miss Indonesia last week.

Her brother, TV star Yusuf Iman, told reporters that she could not speak Bahasa Indonesia fluently because she was schooled at home and had few chances to practice.

"Weird, how come Miss Indonesia missed Indonesian?" said a blogger named Coro on Kompas.com, the website of one of the country's biggest newspapers.

"This is truly a tasteless joke!" wrote another blogger on the Web site of the Jakarta Post newspaper. "How on earth do the pitiful judges of this laughable beauty pageant justify their foolish decision? Imagine a Chinese beauty contestant who does not speak Chinese... Shame on the judges!"

Halim has promised to improve her Indonesian, saying it was an easy language to learn for those who are willing.

"It's been hard for me to speak Indonesian, because I use English every day," she was quoted by the Jakarta Post newspaper as saying. "But I will learn."

In 2006, the winner of the Indonesian leg of the Miss Universe contest, Nadine Chandrawinata, an Indonesian of German descent, was lambasted by the public and the media after struggling to answer the judges' questions in English.

Liliana Tanoesoedibjo, head of the judges panel, said Halim's English language skills would help Indonesia's chances in the Miss World contest in Johannesberg. "She can speak Indonesian, but has a bit of an American accent. But her Indonesian is good enough," Tanoesoedibjo said.

In the last decade, many Indonesians have been trying to improve their English skills and many English words have seeped into the local language.

Some bloggers expressed sympathy with Halim, saying foreign language skills were key to succeeding in today's world.

"For Bahasa Indonesia you need enough to get by. But these days, you need to be fluent in a foreign language, English at least," Memen Suprietmen said on a posting on Kompas.com.

Various versions of this story, or comments about it, can be found...

here at this news site, [click with your mouse]

here on a blog by a disappointed Indonesian man,

and here on this blog by an Indonesian woman.

What do YOU feel about this? Tell us in the COMMENTS below.

Yogyakarta in the national eye... part 3

2009-06-11T13:35:00.007+07:00

Borobudur Green Map Launched

Wed, 06/10/2009 1:01 PM

YOGYAKARTA: Borobudur Green Map was launched Monday in an effort to preserve the old Buddhist temple and its surrounding area.

Green Map program coordinator Kristanti Wisnu Aji Wardani revealed the map described the geographical site of the temple and social conditions around the tourist destination.

"So far tourists only visit the temple and back home. Actually, there are so many interesting things in villages around the temple," Kristanti said after the launch ceremony at Ngaran hamlet, Borobudur village, Magelang regency.

She said 20 hamlets around the temple had tourism potential.

"Many of the tourists don't know about the hamlets."

Any thoughts from anyone?

A Friend's Gritty Grammar Problems Solved

2009-06-10T19:09:00.003+07:00

Hey there! A thousand sincere apologies for taking so long to get back to you about this. Better late than never - at least I hope that's true in this case!

Four interesting problems.

1. During free fall, ______ up to a full minute, a skydriver will fall at a constant speed.

a. it is
b. which is
c. being
d. is

You said: My answer is B. However, actually, I'm a little bit confused. What is the meaning of "up to a full minute". And what does the "up to a full minute" explain? the "free fall" or the "skydriver"? If skydriver, can we use the connector "which"?

You are correct. The answer is B. "Up to a full minute" is an amount of time. It is a description of the duration of the "free fall". If it referred to the skydiver (which it doesn't - and couldn't!) we couldn't use "which".

2. Radioactive ______ provides a powerful way to easure geologic time.

a. it
b. dates
c. dating
d. can

You said: My answer is C. Can an adjective stand by itself? I mean the radioactive here as the subject and it's explained by the word "dating"?

You are correct. The answer is C. An adjective cannot stand by itself and cannot act as the subject.

3. Until _____ incorrect, astronomers had assumed that the insides of white dwarfs were uniform.

a. they
b. their proof
c. the astronomers recently proven
d. recently proven

You said: My answer is D, and I'm really sure of it.. But, I can't get the meaning. What is the meaning of "the insides of white dwarfs were uniform"? What is uniform in this sentence?

You are correct. The answer is D. What is "uniform" in this sentence? It's clear: "the insides of white dwarfs" are uniform (only they're not, because that theory has been disproven!) If you have difficulty because of the technical words like "white dwarfs" and "uniform", just replace them with other words, like this: "[the bathroom walls in all the guest rooms] were [painted the same colour]".

4. In Hailey, the best known lecturer was women's rights activist Abigail Scott Duniway of Portland, Oregon, who could usually be persuaded to speak ______ town visiting her son.

a. she was in
b. while in
c. while she was in
d. was in

You said: My answer is B. Not sure, though. What is the main subject and verb in this sentence? the best known lecturer and was???? Why isn't there comma in front of Abigail Scott Duniway? I mean, it is an appositive.

You are correct. The answer is B. "The best known lecturer" is the main subject in this sentence. Let's strip away some 'unnecessary' words and paraphrase others and see what the sentence then looks like:

The lecturer was Abigail, who usually spoke when in town.

A comma before "Abigail Scott Duniway" would make a mess! It would mean we ought to be able to remove "Abigail Scott Duniway of Portland, Oregon" from the sentence and still be left with something that made (less detailed) sense. But would we? "The best known lecturer was women's rights activist who could usually be persuaded to speak". But "activist" has no article - neither indefinite nor definite. This is because "activist" is, here, part of a three word phrase that descibes Abigail.

Phew!

Happy Birthday to you, you and you!

2009-06-10T16:25:00.003+07:00

Here are some recently celebrated Birthdays amongst the members of the Wisma Bahasa EnglishDivision Family.

Monday 1st June 2009 (White Rabbits!!!)

Sri Daryati, S.Pd
S. Adi Hutomo P.
Harry Andriyanto N, S. Pd, Amd, Arch

Tuesday 2ndJune 2009
Nazario De Carvalho Guterres

Wednesday 3rd June 2009
Kristian Hanafi

Thursday 4th June 2009

Dra. Kartimah

Saturday 6th June 2009

Dewi Tika Sari
Amalia Faradina

Tuesday 9th June 2009

Resiyama Patrick Oratmangun

Wednesday 10th June 2009

Siti Solikhah S. Pd.
Windu Utami Surya Dewi

Congratulations to all of you! Many (belated) happy returns of the day!

The Most Famous Verbal Slip Of All Time?

2009-06-10T13:17:00.004+07:00

It's one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind.

These are the famous words spoken by Neil Armstrong in 1969 as he climbed out of the lunar module and onto the moon's surface.

But... he got his "famous words" wrong.

Do you know why?

Answers in the COMMENTS below.

The Nine Apples Puzzle

2009-06-10T12:54:00.005+07:00

You have nine apples which all look identical.

One of them is slightly heavier than the rest.

You have a pair of weighing scales.

What is the LEAST number of times you would have to use the scales to guarantee that you will identify the heavier apple?

Answers and explanations in the COMMENTS below please.

Today's Top Stories - according to the BBC

2009-06-10T09:20:00.000+07:00

BBC NEWS
02:16 GMT, Wednesday, 10 June 2009 03:16 UK

Suicide attack on Pakistani hotel
At least 11 people are reported to have been killed in a suicide bomb attack on a luxury hotel in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.

Court opens way for Chrysler sale
The US Supreme Court removes a stay on Fiat's plan to buy up part of the bankrupt carmaker Chrysler.

UK to consider new voting system
PM Gordon Brown is set to announce plans to examine a new system of voting MPs to the House of Commons.

Spot The Error #3

2009-06-10T09:08:00.003+07:00

Can you spot the rather unfortunate error in the tattoo below?

Answers in COMMENTS below please.

Do you have a tattoo? Why not send it to us here at http://wbed.blogspot.com/ so that we can check it for spelling mistakes. But remember, as Yuan has told us, the olny impotrant tihng is taht the fisrt and lsat letetr be in the rhgit pcale. So don't worry too much.

Google Earth - technology creates opportunities

2009-06-10T08:55:00.004+07:00

Can you find the Wisma Bahasa on this satellite photograph?

Why not give Google Earth a try?

It will blow your hair back.

1. Go here.

2. Download the software.

3. Install.

4. Find where you live on the satellite photograph. Add a "placemark".

5. Open the placemark 'properties'.

6. Cut and paste the exact coordinates into a COMMENT below.

7. Send it to us so we can see exactly where you live.

8. Give your Wisma teacher a copy of your front door key and a copy of the keys to any locked rooms in which you keep your valuables.

9. Enjoy your life and work hard on your English.

10 If someone burgles your house, report it to the police but there is no need to say anything to them about Google Earth.

Cartoon - New Teacher

2009-06-09T22:12:00.003+07:00

Idioms Ahoy! Why's he talking about Clouds?

2009-06-09T21:06:00.004+07:00

Always on the lookout for those puzzling - but useful - idioms! It's a never ending task!

Here are three idiomatic expressions which mention 'cloud'.

Every cloud has a silver lining

To be under a cloud

To have your head in the clouds

Have you ever heard any of these? If not, see if you can work out what they mean by reading the text below.

What a dreamer Mbak Tatik is! She daydreams about this, she imagines that. Sometimes the things she talks about are real. Sometimes they are not. When you see her staring out the window at nothing in particular, you know she has her head in the clouds. But actually some people at the Wisma are a little unhappy with her. Ari Wibowo came to the front office and asked about studying at the Wisma but Tatik had her head in the clouds and didn't persuade him to take the General Course. Yuan, Prima, Siwi - they were all angry with her. But she wasn't under a cloud for long. 'Mas' Ari came back the next day and asked for more information and Yuan, Prima and Siwi just so happened to be hanging out in the front office. So... every cloud has a silver lining!

Can you figure out what the expressions mean?

Try ... before you look at the explanations below!

Here are the definitions:

Every cloud has a silver lining - there are good things even in seemingly bad situations
To be under a cloud - to be under suspicion or to be out of favour
To have your head in the clouds - to daydream or to be unrealistic

Today's Top Stories - according to the BBC

2009-06-09T18:52:00.001+07:00

BBC NEWS
11:47 GMT, Tuesday, 9 June 2009 12:47 UK

Guantanamo detainee sent to NY for trial
The first Guantanamo detainee to face a US civilian trial arrives in New York and is to appear in court later.

Shell settles Nigeria deaths case
Oil firm Shell agrees to pay $15.5m to families of a group of Nigerian activists executed in 1995, but accepts no liability.

France 'freezer baby' case begins
The trial begins in France of a woman accused of killing three of her babies and hiding two of them in a freezer.

To read any of the stories in full, click on the blue text headlines.

Can you read this?

2009-06-08T21:06:00.005+07:00

Accdroing to a resraech at Caibrmdge Urivensity, it dosen't mettar in waht oedrr the letters in a wrod are. The olny impotrant tihng is taht the fisrt and lsat letetr be in the rhgit pcale. The rset can be a tatol mses and you can slitl raed it wiohtut prlboem. Tihs is becasue the hamun mnid deos not raed evrey lteter by itslef, but the wrod as a whloe.

It is a fun fact about the human mind, isn't it?

Write any words/sentences and scramble them here.

News From The Wisma

2009-06-08T11:45:00.008+07:00

Whatever is causing the trafiic jams, the fully booked hotels and general feeling of ecstasy and rejoice in Yogyakarta, one thing for sure is Demangan Baru is rocking with the news that veteran native speaker, Adrian B. Coen, has started using his brand new handmade leather shoes to work.

Speaking to a shoving, shrieking, shouting group of journalists, Mr Coen explained that the new shoes, made by his personal cobbler, KRT Hardjo Wikromo MSc, were size 44. He plans to use them every day and will teach a wide selection of Indonesians and other nationalities while wearing them on his feet.

As in the past, Mr Coen, 29 years old (always), angrily denied accusations of acute bromidrosis. He insisted that his sudden exits from countries like the U.K., Japan and Australia had nothing whatsoever to do with the deadly odours coming out of his last pair of shoes which he wore all the way around the world for a period of fourteen years.

His old shoes can now be viewed at the WB-ED. please make an appointment with Mr Coen's personal Shoe manager, mBak tatik.

Detailed shot of one of the new shoes. When not being worn the two shoes are never allowed to be in the same place at once for security reasons.

Cartoon - Breakfast at the Grammar Cafe

2009-06-08T09:14:00.002+07:00

So? What is the right answer?

The Day's Top Stories - according to the BBC

2009-06-08T09:05:00.002+07:00

BBC NEWS
02:02 GMT, Monday, 8 June 2009 03:02 UK

European voters punish the left
Centre-right parties have done well in EU elections at the expense of the left, with far-right groups also making gains.

US-backed bloc 'wins Lebanon poll'
The leader of Lebanon's governing pro-Western coalition claims victory over the Hezbollah-led bloc in a tight election.

'More bodies found' from lost jet
A total of 17 bodies from the crashed Air France flight have now been recovered from the Atlantic, officials say.

Click on the headlines to read the story in full on the BBC web site.

What is Esperanto?

2009-06-08T08:49:00.007+07:00

Following up on Brian's comment on the Disappearing Languages post...

What is Esperanto?

Esperanto is a language, but not of any country or ethnic group: it is a neutral, international language.

Origins

The basic rules and words of Esperanto were proposed by L. L. Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century. Within a few years, people started learning it and formed a worldwide community. Since then, Esperanto has been in use (and freely evolving) just like any other language.

Characteristics

Esperanto has a very regular structure. Words are often made from many other roots, and in this way the number of words which one must memorise is made much smaller. The language is phonetic, and the rules of pronunciation are very simple, so that everyone knows how to pronounce a written worde and vice-versa. All this make the learning of the language relatively easy.

Most Esperanto roots are similar to words from Romance, Germanic or Slavic languages. However, Esperanto is not merely a "pot-pourri" of those languages, but a true and independent language in itself - structurally more similar, furthermore, to non-European languages than to European ones.

Using Esperanto

Esperanto is most useful for neutral communication. That means that communication through Esperanto does not give advantages to the members of any particular people or culture, but provides an ethos of equality of rights, tolerance and true internationalism. This can be seen in many diverse situations: international meetings, books, magazines, music, the Internet of course, and often also in private and family life.

Young people can have very meaningful experiences through Esperanto: being hosted free of charge in the homes of people in other countries and making contact with their culture without barriers; enjoying international festivals and training at interesting seminars; becoming acquainted with and learning more foreign languages; and becoming active and taking an interest in TEJO, as the case should arise.

An extract from the Christian Bible translated into Esperanto.

This article has been 'taken' from here. Check out the rest of that web site.

Please also check out those links provided by Brian.

Vocabulary Book - 100 Everyday Idioms

2009-06-07T16:33:00.008+07:00

Here's a useful book explaining 100 commonly used metaphors (i.e. idioms)

What did you say?
What do you mean?

The metaphors are arranged alphabetically, based on the first noun – if there is one. If there is no noun, then the order is taken from the main word that doesn’t change, such as “backwards” in “bend over backwards” (people sometimes say “lean over backwards”).

I each case there is an explanation of what the idiom means, why or when people use it, plus examples.

Download it here. Slightly bigger file than usual (almost 6MB), hope it's ok for you.

Here's an example from the book:

Any reactions to this book? Was it useful? Write your thoughts or requests for other kinds of book in the COMMENTS section below.

Yogyakarta in the national eye... part 2

2009-06-07T16:03:00.004+07:00

NGO Claims Orangutans Stressed, Neglected in Zoos

The Center for Orangutan Protection, citing a three-day survey conducted in April, claimed on Wednesday that orangutans in zoos across Java were suffering from unabashed neglect and severe depression.

The nongovernmental organization, blaming an overall failure by local zookeepers to properly operate institutions established to provide sanctuary to the endangered primates, said they had observed 28 orangutans in five local zoos — Bandung, Jakarta, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta.

“The result shows that the orangutans live in poor conditions; most of them are living in stressful conditions and display abnormal behavior,” said Luki Wardhani, the center’s captivity researcher. “We urge the government to immediately follow up our findings.”

She said the animals were stressed out to the point that they were drinking their own urine, banging their heads, eating their own vomit, circling restlessly and masturbating.

“These are symptoms of depression, just the same as in humans,” Luki said. “These are only the ones seen by the public, those put on show. What about the others not on display?”

The complete article is here.

Any thoughts?

Write them in the COMMENTS below.

Spot The Error #2

2009-06-07T15:46:00.003+07:00

Can you spot the mistakes on this sign board? How many mistakes can you find?

What do you think "P.P.P.N." means?

Answers in the COMMENTS below please!

Tricky Words

2009-06-07T15:14:00.005+07:00

Some people have trouble using the words SEE, LOOK and WATCH correctly.

Try these. Can you fill the gaps with the word SEE, LOOK or WATCH (or some other form of them)? Sometimes more than one answer is possible.

1) You can't ____ far in this heavy rain.

2) Anton and Jack ____ good tonight.

3) Did you ____ Empat Mata last night?

4) ____ out for pickpockets!

5) Can you ____ the blue car on the left?

6) ____ you tomorrow after work, ok?

7) It ____ like rain, doesn't it?

8) Oh yes, I ____ what you mean.

9) What's wrong? You ____ really unhappy.

10) I'm afraid Linda has to ____ the doctor.

Some of these are a little tricky, don't you think?

Give us your answers to the 10 questions above in the COMMENTS below.

See if this guideline helps:

look -to pay attention, to try to see what is there (if look is followed by an object, you must use a preposition which is usually 'at'); to seem or appear - examples: Look at the board, please; this assignment looks unfinished; Have you looked in the drawer?

see - to notice people and things with your eyes; visual impression; to understand; to visit - examples: Can you see the the blue car over there?; I see what you mean; It was so dark I couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

watch - to look at something for a period of time, usually something which moves or changes - examples: He watches TV in the evenings; Adrian has been watching his weight recently; watch what happens when I turn the volume control all the way up!

'Look', 'see' and 'watch' are very similar. They are all ways of using our eyes. However, there are two very important differences. It depends on how you intend to look or watch and how intense the looking is.

When we say 'see' we are normally talking about things we can't avoid – so for example, "I opened the curtains and saw some birds outside." - I didn't intend to see them, it just happened.

However, when we use the verb 'look', we're talking about seeing something with an intention. So, "this morning I looked at the newspaper" – I intended to see the newspaper.

When we watch something, we intend to look at it but we're also looking at it quite intensely, usually because it's moving. So, for example, "I watched the bus go through the traffic lights." "I watched the movie." We want to see it, we're looking at it intensely and it's normally moving.

Yogyakarta in the national eye... part 1

2009-06-07T14:47:00.003+07:00

10,000 seeds planted to green Yogyakarta

Mon, 06/01/2009

YOGYAKARTA: To make Yogyakarta a greener city, Mayor Herry Zudianto started to cultivate 10,000 seeds of various plants in the city, on Sunday.

Herry symbolically handed over the seeds to 45 subdistrict heads who would plant the seeds with residents.

"Hopefully, the additional 10,000 trees will make the city greener. The residents were asked to get involved to keep the trees from dying," Herry said.

The seeds will be planted along the city's main roads, such as Jl. Parangtritis, Jl. Gondomanan and Jl. Mataram.

Can anyone tell where the photograph was taken?

Idioms Ahoy! Why's he talking about Donkeys?

2009-06-07T13:44:00.011+07:00

Always on the lookout for those puzzling - but useful - idioms! It's a never ending task!

Here are three idiomatic expressions which mention 'donkey'.

Donkey work
For donkey's years
To talk the hind leg off a donkey

Have you ever heard any of these? If not, see if you can work out what they mean by reading the text below.

If you want to know the Wisma Bahasa gossip, talk to Mas Sugeng because he's been here for donkey's years. In fact he's been here so long he can remember when the Wisma Bahasa was still in Jalan Cenrawasih. If you ask him to tell you stories he'll talk and talk and talk. In fact no one can talk the hind legs off a donkey as well as he can! The teachers think they're so great but it's Mas Sugeng who does the donkey work that makes everything run smoothly at the Wisma Bahasa in the evenings: preparing the classrooms, answering the phone, greeting the students, finding the teachers, and generally keeping an eye on things.

Can you figure out what the expressions mean?

Here are the definitions:

Donkey work - necessary but boring routine work
For donkey's years - for a long time
To talk the hind leg off a donkey - to talk too much

Disappearing Languages - follow up

2009-06-07T13:34:00.005+07:00

Here is an article from a Japanese newspaper (Asahi Shimbun) about endangered languages in Japan.

With only 15 speakers left, the Ainu language is “critically endangered” while seven other languages in Japan are also at risk of disappearing, according to a UNESCO report.

These eight languages in Japan are among about 2,500 around the world that have become or could become extinct, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s report said.

UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger listed eight languages in Japan, such as the Ainu language, as independent tongues under international standards rather than indigenous dialects, an official with Paris-based UNESCO said.

In addition to Hokkaido, the Ainu language used to be widely spoken in Russia’s Sakhalin as well as the Chishima island chain off the coast of Hokkaido, including the Northern Territories. But the speakers there have died out.

“Few people speak Ainu in everyday life,” said the Sapporo-based Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture.

The seven other endangered languages in Japan are Yaeyama, Yonaguni, Okinawa, Kunigami, Miyako in Okinawa Prefecture, Amami in Kagoshima Prefecture, and Hachijo in Tokyo. The first six languages are spoken on the Nansei island chain, which stretches from north of Taiwan and south of Kyushu, and Hachijo in Tokyo’s Hachijojima island and nearby islets.

UNESCO described the Yaeyama and Yonaguni languages as “severely endangered,” while the other five were “definitely endangered.”

Osamu Sakiyama, professor emeritus of linguistics at the National Museum of Ethnology, welcomed UNESCO’s approach, saying a dialect should be treated as an independent language if its speakers have a distinct culture.

“Coupled with the myth that Japan is ethnically homogenous, people tend to think that one language is spoken in Japan. But I want people to know there is quite a diversity,” Sakiyama said.

The Atlas of the World Languages in Danger released Thursday is the third. It conducted similar research in 1996 and 2001.

More than 30 linguists covered about 6,000 languages around the world, making the survey one of unprecedented scale.

The 2,500 endangered languages were put into five different categories: unsafe; definitely endangered; severely endangered; critically endangered; and extinct.

The number of “critically endangered” languages stood at 538, including 199 with 10 or fewer speakers. There were 502 “severely endangered” languages, 632 “definitely endangered,” and 607 were deemed “unsafe.”

Many of these languages are spoken in sub-Saharan Africa, South America and Melanesia.

Since 1950, 219 languages have become extinct, according to the report. The latest language to disappear is Eyak in Alaska, with the death of the remaining speaker, the report said.

Ryoji Kikuchi, an official with the Hachijo board of education, welcomed UNESCO’s citation as a good opportunity to keep record of the disappearing language.

“We have wanted to do something about the language because the number of people who speak it is decreasing due to the aging of society,” Kikuchi said.

Kikuchi said local officials are considering uploading a recording of the Hachijo language, taped several decades ago, on the town’s website.

Feel free to COMMENT on this post below.

Cartoon - Irritating Boss

2009-06-07T13:05:00.003+07:00

Thousands of languages are disappearing

2009-06-07T12:15:00.006+07:00

NEWS FLASH!

The United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, says more than a third of the world's six thousand languages are in danger of extinction. Of those two thousand, it says, about two hundred are spoken by only a handful of people.

Download and listen to this news story here.

Here is the text:

When a language dies, UNESCO says the world loses valuable cultural heritage - a great deal of the legends, poems and the knowledge gathered by generations is simply lost. In 2008, Alaska's last native speaker of Eyak died, taking the language with her.

Chief Marie Smith Jones, praying here for the survival of the Eyaks. She died at the age of eighty-nine, campaigning to save her people's heritage.

UNESCO says government action is needed if the world is to preserve its linguistic diversity. People must be proud to speak their language to ensure it survives.

In the last five years, the governments of Mexico, New Zealand and the United States managed to reverse the trend locally. But UNESCO says the phenomenon of dying languages appears in every region and in very diverse economic conditions.

Here are some of the words and idioms used in the news report:

UNESCO - short for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

valuable cultural heritage - features belonging to a particular society, such as traditions, languages, buildings or works of art, which still exist from the past, are unique and therefore have a historical importance

a great deal of - many, a lot of

legends - old stories presented as history but unlikely to be true

native speaker of... - someone whose first language, or mother tongue, is...

campaigning - taking action aimed at achieving a goal

to preserve its linguistic diversity - to save the great number of languages currently spoken

to reverse the trend - to make sure people are encouraged to speak rare languages, so those languages can survive

Any thoughts on this?

There are many problems in this world. Is 'disappearing languages' something for us to worry about?

Do you speak a language that is disappearing?

How many of you will not teach your children the mother tongue your parents spoke and used with you?

Is English your second language? Third language? Fourth language?

Comments, thoughts, opinions in the COMMENTS below please.

Moral Dilemma #2 Irritating Workmate

2009-06-07T11:39:00.006+07:00

You have a very annoying colleague at work. Let's call her Prima... no not the Wisma Bahasa's Prima. A different one! Anyway, this Prima isn't very good at her job. You are always correcting her mistakes and always covering up for her when her mistakes cause trouble for everyone in your department. On top of it all, she has very irritating personal habits like eating smelly fried beans (pete goreng) in the office and listening to D'Massive on her computer. One day she applies for a transfer to another department. The department's boss asks you for a reference. In other words, do you recommend her to the boss? What do you do next?

Your answers and thoughts please in the COMMENTS below.

We apologize on behalf of Bahasa Inggris, part 1

2009-06-07T11:04:00.006+07:00

There are no less than NINE phrasal verbs that use the verb "ask" + a preposition.

How many of them do you know already?

A. What does 'Ask after' mean?

Enquire about someone's health, how life is going
Give assistance
Die

B. What does 'Ask in' mean?

To invite somebody into your house
Move at the same rate
Drive a vehicle as fast as possible

C. What does 'Ask for' mean?

Request to have or be given
Mean
Experience different times

D. What does 'Ask over' mean?

Arrive in large numbers, for military vehicles
Invite
Lose hair

E. What does 'Ask for' mean?

Attack
To provoke a negative reaction
Hit and injure someone

F. What does 'Ask round' mean?

Invite someone
Explode
Emit pollution or something else unpleasant

G. What does 'Ask out' mean?

To invite someone for a date
When trouble starts
Visit

H. What does 'Ask around' mean?

Stop holding (but withdraw support gently)
Invite someone
Understand fully

I. What does 'Ask around' mean?

Use money earned
Ask a number of people for information of help
Make someone feel more positive

Your suggested answers or any other discussion in the COMMENTS below please. Do the test on your own before you check the answers below.

C.S.I. Yogya - Special Grammar Police Unit #1

2009-06-06T16:31:00.007+07:00

Call in the Grammar Crime Scene Unit. There are EIGHT errors in the following text. Can you find them?
I've listened to you're story. And there isn't any reason for me to believe you. Its unbelievable! Who's idea was it to tell Ani? Their are times when you should keep a secret and times when you should open your mouth. Well, your in trouble now! Whose going to tell the university? And how on Earth can we give there bicycle back? And what about it's wheel? It's completely broken! Whose fault is it? Well it's not mine! Who's going to pay for the damage? You're crazy if you think I can pay for their bicycle! I can't even afford to replace its wheel!

To make it more interesting the EIGHT incorrectly used words in text are also used correctly, once each. Give your answers in the COMMENTS below.

Spot The Error #1

2009-06-06T14:28:00.004+07:00

Can you see the mistake in the text on the memorial plaque above?

Answer in the COMMENTS below!

Grammar Book - PDF with hyperlinks

2009-06-06T13:28:00.005+07:00

Here is a very useful grammar book It is in PDF format but it has hyperlinks which means that if you click on certain text you are able to jump from page to page in order to find what you are looking for. There are 224 pages. The file is zipped to 800KB. Highly recommended.

Download it by clicking on the picture of "Grammar Crackers" below:

Electronic Dictionary for your computer

2009-06-06T13:06:00.005+07:00

The IndoDic E-kamus is a downloadable, Windows-based electronic dictionary and translating tool which lets you access the TruAlfa Indonesian and English translation dictionaries without an internet connection. The IndoDic E-kamus is free for personal use.

DOWNLOAD it here.

Click on this graphic for a screenshot:

Cartoon - Saving Face

2009-06-06T12:41:00.003+07:00

Moral Dilemma #1 Lunch partner

2009-06-06T10:58:00.006+07:00

One of your friends invites you to have lunch with him. Let's call him Anton. You tell Anton that you are sorry but you can't accept because you are too busy with your work. A short while later a different friend, called Jack, invites you to lunch. You now feel tired and decide that your work can wait till after lunch and so you accept Jack's invitation. When you get to the cafe you see that Anton is inside, eating lunch alone. What do you do next?

Answers, thoughts, suggestions in the COMMENTS below please!

Tall People Earn More Money

2009-06-06T10:13:00.009+07:00

NEWS FLASH!

Researchers in Australia have found that tall people earn higher wages than shorter people. An extra ten centimetres in height means 3% higher wages. They also found that chubby people earn more than those who are skinnier.

Download and listen to this news story here.

Here is the text:

The long and short of this Australian report is that tall workers earn significantly more than their vertically challenged counterparts. A six foot man can expect a windfall of almost $750 a year. The researchers found there were practical reasons why the size gap translated into a pay gap. Tall people were sometimes more capable of performing certain physical tasks, like reaching high shelves. But the discrepancy is explained mainly by discrimination, the simple fact that society tends to look on tall people as more powerful and smarter, even when they're not. The study from the Australian National University also found that slimmer workers tend to get slimmer pay packets. Fat men earn 5% more than their slender colleagues.

Here are some of the words and idioms used in the news report:

the long and short of = a commonly used set expression said when you want to explain the general situation without giving details

vertically challenged = an indirect way of saying 'short'

counterparts = your counterpart is someone who is generally similar to you but different in a particular way (e.g. they come from a different country, or, as here, they are shorter than you)

windfall = money that you win or receive unexpectedly

translated into = meant, caused, resulted in

discrepancy = a distinct difference between two things that should be the same

discrimination = unfair treatment of someone because of prejudice about race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender or, as here, size

tend to get slimmer pay packets = usually earn less money

slender = slim, thin

Any thoughts on this?

Answers in the COMMENTS please!