March Idioms

Paul Huber

Although St. Patrick was the Patron Saint of Ireland, on the 17th of March, people from all over the United States have lots of parties and parades to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. On this day, those of Irish descent,  or simply those with Irish pride, celebrate Ireland’s heritage on t-shirts that might say: “Kiss me, I’m Irish” or “Luck of the Irish,” bars sell green beer, and lots of people wear green and luck charms, such as shamrocks.

 

Here are some common expressions having to do with LUCK:

beginner’s luck – when a new or inexperienced person has a great success; meaning it was luck rather than skill.
Example: -“Wow, he made that shot on his first professional game ever!”
– “It was just beginner’s luck.”

you’re in luck – used to describe a good situation for another person.
Example: “You’re in luck, this was the last pair in your size and in this color!”

better luck next time –  used after minor failures when someone attempts something but can’t
succeed.
Example: “Dude, she beat me at that new video game!”
“Oh, well. Better luck next time!”

just my luck – used sarcastically to say something was very unlucky.
Example: “I skipped school to go to the beach, and just my luck: it rained all day!”

pushing your luck – to try to extend the good luck or a good situation you’ve had and risk having a negative result or losing what you have so far.
Example: “ I was chosen out of the twenty who applied for the position so I accepted with the
starting salary they offered me because I thought asking for a higher starting salary would be
pushing my luck.”

the luck of the draw – the result of chance and you have no control over
Example: “Sometimes you have to wait for hours to see a doctor in the emergency room, other times you can see a doctor in 20 minutes. It’s just the luck of the draw.” 

try your luck – try to accomplish something even though you know you may not succeed
Example: “He is going to try his luck at Las Vegas casino.” 

 

 

 

Emotive Or Apathetic

Paul Huber
As humans our emotions have surely evolved. From the time that we were lawless barbarians to the fair, just and humane civilians we call ourselves today. In general, we humans are conditioned from childhood to care for one another and also for other species as well. Parents and educators teach kids to respect wildlife, to not pick flowers, to love animals and always help peers and friends. As we grow into adulthood, so does our interest in others. We express empathy and kindness and do our best to reach out and help. Caring and morality has come to denote our civility.

But the sense of empathy and emotion are not widespread across the globe. when I look at the world, I feel emotions and kindness are analogous to a sense of comfort and wealth. In countries in which the majority of the population have a moderate net worth and have a greater level of education, tend to have greater emotional interest in the welfare of others. It’s evident that those struggling wouldn’t have the means or the interest in others. Families with meager income or those in developing countries are burdened with their own daily responsibilities and survival and unable to express the same level of empathy and care. However, the level of wealth doesn’t necessarily commensurate with emotion. There’s a point at which higher wealth leads to a sense of indifference and disconnect. The affluent become contemptuous and isolated from everyone else. They live, work, shop, dine and spend their time in manicured places where everyone’s desires are taken care of and there’s no exposure to anyone in need.  Anecdotally the wealthy, just as much as the impoverished, have the least sense of empathy and interest in others. In that sense, the affluent are quite like the insolvent in looking the other way in the face of need.

In the past few decades, the world has seen a decline in the number of middle class population. The rich, have certainly become much richer and the poor have equally become poorer and the middle class is being squeezed thin. Where then, does that leave us in our quest for emotion? If the rich and the poor alike are so engaged in their own lives to care about anyone else, our sense of empathy is being compromised. I wonder if it will survive and if not, will we become the inhumane, barbarians that we once were?

Susan Massoudnia

Women in White State of the Union

Paul Huber
Written by: Susan Massoudnia
On Tuesday, February 5th, the President of the United States (POTUS), Donald Trump, addressed the nation in a speech famously known as the State of the Union Address.

This historic speech dates back to the 1920’s, when for the very first time, the U.S. president of the time, spoke before the congress and addressed the nation about the country’s state of affairs.

Since then, all U.S. presidents have followed the practice and it has become a presidential convention. The purpose of this important speech is to make the nation aware of the accomplishments thus far in the presidency and to unfold the future expectations of the remaining years of the presidential term. The speech can potentially reaffirm the support of voters and increase the president’s chance to win another four-year term, if the president chooses to run again.

The main reason I started to write about this is not to speak about the speech, but to mention something very unique about this year’s address that I observed on TV.
As I was in the kitchen, getting some things done with my head down and half-listening to the speech on TV in the other room, I glanced over and the camera moved from the president to the congressional floor.

The image showed Donald trump in Capitol Hill on the floor of the Congress, behind the podium, before the hundreds of elected representatives in the joint session of Congress. As I glanced up at the TV, suddenly something caught my eye. I noticed a sea of white amid all the mostly dark-suited men and women. At first I couldn’t make out the patch of white. I curiously looked closer and realized that the white were all the newly elected women representatives dressed head-to-toe in stark white clothes. I quickly realized that this was an intended act for media visibility. It was a show of power and a display of women’s new stronghold in leadership, government and lawmaking.

Women in the government has dressed in white throughout history to represent their struggle.
It was awe-inspiring to see such an inspirational gesture right in the heart of our nation. It was an “in your face,” bold and courageous display of support of women in the aftermath of the recently publicized injudicious acts by powerful men in all sectors of our society. As a woman, witnessing this solidarity among women lawmakers, instantly empowered me.

As exuberant as I felt, a question lingered in my mind about the significance of the color white. After researching it, I found out that wearing white in protest goes back to the 1920’s and the suffrage movement. The suffrage movement is a significant event in U.S. history. Women flocked to the streets dressed in white demanding equality and protesting their inability to vote. Women were able to successfully adopt the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution shortly after, which gives citizens of the U.S. the right to vote, regardless of sex (men or women). It’s quite interesting that almost a century (100 years) later, women lawmakers in Congress are again dressed in white, publicly voicing their interests, showing their influence and still fighting for equal rights.

Karaoke Day in Irvine, California

Paul Huber

Valentine’s day is approaching.  Love is in the air, but birds aren’t the only ones singing. 

 

For February’s inter-campus event, POLY Languages at Irvine is hosting a Karaoke day followed by dinner at Diamond Jamboree in Irvine! Karaoke will begin at 3:00 p.m. and will carry on until 5:30 p.m. 

 

Karaoke – an interactive form of entertainment where amateur singers sing lyrics off a television screen into a microphone, while a music recording plays in the background. It is a favorite pastime that’s enjoyed by people all over the world. According to Wikipedia, “Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques.” Like learning to speak a new language, singing requires one to focus on tone (intonation), rhythm (flow), and other techniques (such as stress, etc.). 

 

Singing is a part of everyone’s culture and Karaoke is an essential social activity in many countries, especially countries in Asia. Bryan Singer wrote in USA-Karaoke that “Japan and the Philippines are two huge karaoke spots” furthermore, he explains that in the Philippines and Korea, “it isn’t unusual for them to grow up with a karaoke machine in their living room.” He lists several reasons as to why Karaoke is more popular in Asian countries, these reasons include: cultural differences, price, setting, and song choice (Asian countries have over 30,000 songs to choose from).

 

The special thing about this inter-campus event for our students from abroad is that students and faculty from all three campuses (Pasadena, Irvine, Los Angeles) will be joining in. This will be a great opportunity to meet and befriend other international students. After karaoke, we’ll most likely be going to BCD, a Soon Tofu restaurant located in the same complex. Fellow ESL students will be able to share and compare their experiences from different parts of Southern California! We especially encourage students to sharpen their pronunciation and really try out their new skills on KARAOKE DAY!