What Makes a Great Jingle?

Hello and congratulations for making it through another week! In the U.S.A. and other countries around the world, we have been mostly self-quarantining ourselves in our house this week. Social Distancing is the new phrase in our collective zeitgeist and boy-howdy, can it be a challenge. Our family lives in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and we have closed our schools and have been directed to work from home. The good news is that working from home is possible for both my wife and I so we can continue to provide for our children. It does make it difficult to work though when you have two young children in the house and you have to not only keep them entertained, but also educated. As a former Junior High School and Elementary school teacher I have some experience, but it's definitely a full-time job.

One of the things I have been doing is playing old commercial jingles for my children. If you are like me, you don't really watch a lot of live television anymore. We mostly watch on-demand programing. Netflix, YouTube and the like. So we don't generally ever see any commercials anymore. For my children, these old commercial jingles are just short songs. And I think that's what makes them so memorable. Some of the best jingles are very very old. One of the shortest but memorable is the one for Jello which has been around for almost 100 years.

So I thought I would link to a few of my favorite jingles here for your enjoyment.

Here is one of the oldest Jello radio commercials. Back in the 1930s radio programs would have one advertiser for the entire show. The Jack Benny Show was sponsored by Jello for years and years. 

Classic commercial from my youth, Kit-Kat! One of the world's most popular candy bars. Now I was one.

I have never bought this cat food but I will never forget this jingle! Classic!

And maybe the most famous one of all! The Coke commercial that was translated into many different languages. Did you have this one in your country?

Hang in there if you can't leave your house! Send me your favorite commercial jingles!

- Michael

Summer Vacation Starts Tomorrow!

Hello from Washington D.C. I am getting ready for my summer vacation and will leave for Colombia tomorrow. I have never been to South America before so this is very exciting for me. I will try to post pictures to this website while I am there.

I have a few new expressions that I would like to share.

Preaching to the choir: When making an argument to someone that already agrees with you. "I was telling Frank why I think Obama should be the next president when he told me I was preaching to the choir. He was going to vote for Obama as well."

Pretty [adjective]: When you add pretty in front of an adjective it means "very." For example. "The tornado was pretty scary", means the same as "The tornado was very scary."

Tunred the page: To go from one stage of life to the next. "Sarah looked like she has finally turned the page and gotten on with her life after the divorce."

Saffle Says Podcast #001

Long time no radio show! Man, has it been a long time since I was on the air. I have no excuse, I have simply been too busy. I am happy to start 2008 with a new podcast. I am picking out some of my most recent idioms, vocabulary words and expressions that I have taught my Manabi students.

I'm looking for people to send me email to my new address: michael.saffle@gmail.com and ask me your tough English questions.

hang over: after a night of drinking the next day you can have headache, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise.

make or break: when you are are some point where what you do will either end in success or failure. "The right draft pick can make or break a good baseball team."

ducks in a row: where you have to be organized and do a series of things before you can achieve your goal. "Before I can buy my first house, I will need to get all my ducks in a row and talk to an agent."

up and comer: someone who is doing well and rising to the top of their field. It could be music, business or any other type of occupation.
Example, "I remember cheering for Asashyoryu back in 2001 when he was an up and commer in the Juro division."

welcome wagon: is a committee of neighbors who bring over a gift to families who move into the area. This is something that is very rare these days and I don't think it has ever happened to my family!

RV - recreational vehicle - A vehicle, such as a camper or motor home, used for traveling and recreational activities.
"The annual Burning Man Concert is a week long affair that most people drive to in their RVs."

prognosticate: to forecast or predict(something in the future) from present indications or signs. Example sentence: "Mark was renowned in the business community for his prognosticating skills when it comes to the market trends."

renaissance man: is a cultured man of the Renaissance who was knowledgeable, educated, or proficient in a wide range of fields. I fancy myself as a renaissance man but I need to do more studying!

Keep an eye on on this blog!

It's been a while since my last podcast so I thought I would supplement my blog with a couple of interesting idioms.

Keep an eye on: This is what you say when you will check something regularly. For example, I keep an eye on the sumo results every day during a tournament.

Example sentence: "The police officer keep an eye on the men loitering in front of the bank."


Easy does it!: Be very careful! / Don't do anything too fast or too hard! I would say this to a friend who is eating too fast or maybe if my father was trying to lift something too heavy.

Example sentence: "East does it Michael! That Christmas tree weighs as much as I do!"




Ok, that's all for tonight. Try to use these in your next English conversation!

Michael

How Hungry Are You?

I'm always hungry. That's because I'm on a diet where I don't eat food after 5PM. I call it my "No Dinner Diet." Most people think I am crazy, and maybe I am. There are a lot of different ways to say you're hungry in English. In tonight's podcast I go over a few of them and I add a couple extra just for the show notes.

starving- extremely hungry. "The men worked hard all day and were starving when they came home."
ravenous - extremely hungry. "I skiped breakfast and now I'm ravenous. "
famished- extremely hungry. "When can we eat dinner? I'm famished!"
peckish - some what hungry but not very hungry. "I'm a bit peckish but not starving."

Send GEC an email if you have any English questions!

Dining Alfresco

It's the time of year when people like to do things outside. Washington D.C. is famous for being very hot and humid in the "dog days of summer." But in May and June the weather is not unbearable and people like to get out and enjoy nature. One way people get outdoors more is to eat outside. Many restaurants have outdoor seating for people who want to eat "alfresco." On a sunny afternoon after work you can see hundreds of business and government workers enjoying "happy hour" with co-workers and friends.

What do you like to do in Japan when you leave work? Do you go straight home or do you have a "watering hole" you stop off at?

In today's podcast I introduced a few new vocabulary words and an idiom.

Dog Days of Summer: The hottest days of the summer that are both hot and humid. "Man, I hate the dog days of summer in Washington D.C. It's unbearable!"

Alfresco: Eating outside at a restaurant. "I love to eat alfresco during the spring and summer."

Happy Hour: the special time when restaurants and bars have drink and food specials. "Let's go to the Irish pub after work, they have great happy hour specials. $3 pints of Guinness!"

Watering Hole: another term for bar. "Let's go to my favorite watering hole near the office. They don't have a happy hour but they atmosphere is worth the extra cost."

Take me out to the ballgame!

Today's podcast we talk about baseball jargon, or the baseball terms that we use in everyday English.

curve ball: an unexpected change
Example sentence: "I was doing well in the interview until they threw me a curve ball question about what my top three weaknesses."

(hit a) home run: to do well at something
"He really hit a home run in his interview and I am sure he will get the job."

strike out: to fail at something
"I heard you struck out at the job interview. Better luck next time."

southpaw: left handed person
"As a southpaw, I had trouble writing with a fountain pen. I smear the ink with my hand!"

桜祭り in Washington D.C.

On April 14, 2007 the Japan America Society of Washington D.C. (JASW) put on the largest Japanese street festival in America. I think over 100 Thousand people attended the Cherry Blossom Festival this year and I was in charge of the karaoke stage. Please enjoy some of the singers.