Ok, this is just for fun, but one of my favorite “songs” of all time is Bulbous Bouffant by The Vestibules. Have you ever said a word over and over again until it ceased to have meaning and became just sound? Probably you haven’t, but I’m weird and I have. That’s the basic idea behind this skit . . .

For more fun, you can find more songs and skits at www.thevestibules.com

I’ll admit an ulterior motive for my previous post about radio dramas.
Of course, listening to radio dramas and programming are wonderful ways to improve your English listening skills. But what if you could improve more than your listening? What if you had an opportunity to practice your writing and speaking skills at the same time? What if you could have something really nifty to show off how much your skills were improving?

What if you made your own radio drama?

Here at Bomb English we want not only to produce wonderful podcasts, but also participate in the process of learning. We hope a small group of listeners might be interested in helping to write, produce, perform, and record a radio-style drama. If you would be interested, please let us know by sending us an email or commenting here on this post. As soon as we have enough people, there will be an announcement giving the time and place of the first meeting!

 

 Standard Podcast [42:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

이 17번째 폭탄영어 에피소드에서는 제니퍼와 마이클이 욕에 대해 대화하는데 너무 솔직하게 말하니까 귀가 아플지도 몰라요. 그리고 이번주는 영어의 욕의 사범님이 돌아가셨는데 — George Carlin — 이 에피소드 꼭 해야 한다고 생각했죠. 이 건 진짜 ‘리얼 잉그리쉬’이죠? 그치 존나 좋지? ㅋㅋㅋ [대본을 다운 받으세요.]

In this 17th episode, Jennifer and Michael talk about Cursing! This week, one of the English language’s master cursers died, so we also decided to do this episode, which we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. You wanted real English? You got, it! Fuckin’ ay, right? [Download the transcript.]

Recorded in mono at 64 kbps, 44.100 KHZ for high voice fidelity and maximum clarity. Show length: 42:37

Show Links:

Mark Wahlberg in ‘The Departed’:

“Stereo negotiations” from ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’:

“Ho’ fo’ sho’” from “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”:

Bernie Mac explains the many uses of “fuck”:

George Carlin’s “Seven Words”

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

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

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

Now, there are lots of places to meet foreigners in Korea, especially in Seoul. But if you’re looking for a different, more intellectual atmosphere than striking up conversations with random people, you should really try the Royal Asiatic Society. The Royal Asiatic Society here in Korea was founded in 1900, and is one of the oldest groups dedicated to Korean studies. If you’re looking for a way to meet diverse people united by a scholarly bent and a deep interest in Asia, this is the place to do it.

What does the RAS do?

Every other week in Seoul, they host a public lecture by scholars and experts on different subjects. They’ve had everything from lectures on marketing to mountaineering to mudang. Come to the informal get-together afterwards to sit down and chat with the members and lecturers over a beer or two.

They also run the most interesting, unique, and enjoyable tours of Korea (and other places in Asia). Forget Korean style touring where by the time the last person has gotten off the bus, the first person in line has been hustled back on so everyone can move to the next site. These tours are led by experts who have detailed, in-depth knowledge of the area, and really take the time to let you get the feel of it. No wham, bam, on to the next place here!

They also have a great library, with more books on Korea in English than just about anyplace else. Need a book on 한옥? They’ve got it. Trying to find English resources on 산신? They’re probably the ones who published it.

So go take a look at the RAS. It’s a great way to meet lots of people who speak English, and to learn more about Korea.

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

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

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

 

 Standard Podcast [36:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

이 16번째 폭탄영어 에피소드에서는 제니퍼와 마이클이 한국의 미친 미친소 논쟁에 대해서 얘기하는 거예요. 이 주제로 하니까 미친 거아니야? 우리가 미국 소고기를 너무 많이 먹은 거아닌가? 도망가! 도망! ㅋㅋㅋ [대본을 다운 받으세요.]

In this 16th episode, Jennifer and Michael talk about mad cow madness. Have we eaten too much American beef? Are we crazy? Or are we just the only ones remaining calm? Wait — did they say they ate American beef? Run! Run! [Download the transcript.]

Recorded in mono at 64 kbps, 44.100 KHZ for high voice fidelity and maximum clarity. Show length: 36:57

Update from Jennifer: We’ve had a few requests for references and places where people can go for information about mad cow disease, its human variants, and various US and Korean meat safety regulations. Ask and ye shall receive:

All edited and ready after the transcript is prepared.

Moooooooo!

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

Before UCC . . .
Before the internet . . .
Before the television there was . . .

RADIO DRAMA!

For most of the 20th century, radio was one of the most popular forms of entertainment. In addition to music, news, and talk shows there were also dramas and comedies and variety shows. It was a venue for serious works and the best known actors to show off their skills, be inventive, and connect with audiences at home. The popularity of these radio shows declined when television became popular and affordable, and the radio drama almost died.
Thanks to the internet and podcasting though, radio-style dramas are easy to make and put out there for anyone in the world to enjoy. They’re an excellent way to practice your English while enjoying fun programing. New theater companies are forming all the time and putting their work out for you to download, while others are working to preserve and resurrect classic shows.

Here’s a short set of links to get you started!

Classic Radio
Radio Lovers hosts all the best and most famous classic radio shows like, The Shadow, Gunsmoke, Buck Rogers, and Burns and Allen, as well as renowned adaptations of books like Les Miserables.

The Mercury Theater was the most famous radio theater group of the 1930’s. Led by Orson Wells, they made well-crafted dramas using the best talent of the day, including the infamous War of the Worlds.

Dramapod is one of the best resources to find contemporary audio theater programs. They have a very comprehensive listing of works produced by all sorts of companies all over the world.

Audio Theater not only lists American companies doing audio drama productions, but also has an introduction to using podcasting for making audio plays.

Well, we are actually not “late” this week, but had our first content-related difficulty!

We made a recording dealing with the “mad cow disease” and American beef issue, but the conversation got too “excited” and verrrrrry long. The problem is that it became nearly impossible to edit, since we were all talking over one another, so…we have to do it over. Hehe.

Since our schedules only allow us to meet once a week, we couldn’t re-record and have our transcriber prepare everything on time. So we’re a bit behind with this episode. But prepare yourselves! The conversation on 광우병 IS coming, as well as other good things. We just made a decision between keeping to the schedule, or keeping our quality up. We decided to go with quality.

So we’d rather have a delayed episode than a bad one. Please understand!

 

 Standard Podcast [55:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

이 15번째 폭탄영어 에피소드에서는 제니퍼와 마이클이 한국인 레즈비언이랑 대화를 나누고 진짜 궁금한 건 힘껏 물어보는 건데 아주 좋은 기회죠?! [대본을 다운 받으세요.]

In this 15th episode, Jennifer and Michael talk with a Korean lesbian who tells us what many people want to ask, but never get the chance. Now’s your chance! [Download the transcript.]

Recorded in mono at 64 kbps, 44.100 KHZ for high voice fidelity and maximum clarity. Show length: 55:10

Show links:
2008 Korea Queer Culture Festival

This Saturday, May 3rd, there will be a real-life get-together for Bomb English members and listeners. This is your chance to meet and hang out with Michael and Jennifer along with other Bomb English users and English-speakers. Come and enjoy the craziness^^ We may even have an impromptu recording session!

[UPDATE ] The meeting will be at the big 신촌 민들래 영토 at 4 pm. Feel free to bring a friend! If you have a second please, let us know by leaving us a comment or an email to help us figure out how many people are coming.

[UPDATE 2] We’d like to thank everybody who came out to meet us today! We had a great time, and really loved getting to talk to you and exchange ideas for the show.

 

 Standard Podcast [27:20m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

이 14번째 폭탄영어 에피소드에서는 제니퍼와 마이클이 왜 ‘미수다’를 싫어하는지 의논해요. 특히 자밀라. 휴… [대본을 다운 받으세요.]

In this 14th episode, Jennifer and Michael discuss why we hate the “Misuda” show so much. Especially Djarmilla… [Download the transcript.]

Recorded in mono at 64 kbps, 44.100 KHZ for high voice fidelity and maximum clarity. Show length: 27:19

 

 Standard Podcast [19:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

이 13번째 폭탄영어 에피소드에서는 제니퍼와 마이클이 미국의 이른바 ‘더치페이’개념과 한국의 습관. 미국과 한국이 그렇게 차이점 많아요? 미국은 진짜 ‘더치페이’하나? 궁금하죠? 그런 어서 들어와야죠. [대본을 다운 받으세요.]

In this 13th episode, Jennifer and Michael discuss the question of who pays for what in social situations. Do Korea and American really differ as much as people think? Find out! [Download the transcript.]

Recorded in mono at 64 kbps, 44.100 KHZ for high voice fidelity and maximum clarity. Show length: 19:46