Culture Bites

An introduction into Shakespeare’s most famous line.

I talk with Tom Emery, ESL teacher, about teaching English abroad and online, the tech changes which are affecting the industry, and the pros and cons of a ‘digital nomad’ life. Tom’s teacher page is here. https://www.italki.com/teacher/658229

When in China, I noticed a strange phenomenon - people making 5 minute summaries of movies, saying what happens from beginning to end, ruining the entire movie-watching experience. This is my revenge. *Don’t proceed if don’t like your movies spoiled - although these are all classics and if you haven’t already seen them, then where have you been anyway?*

The lockdown has begun, and Tom and I have taken desperate measures to keep up morale. Billy Joel, can you save us?

The Beatles were pretty damn big. But what did John really mean with that Jesus remark? Culture Bites investigates.

If you go teach English in China, you’ll realise how impressively dedicated Chinese students are. You’ll also come across the same errors again and again, and given enough time, you’ll start to go mad. Here’s a rundown of the 5 common Chinglish mistakes which started driving me up the wall. For more info on teaching English in China, go to: GoChat.strikingly.com

November is remembering season, but who do we remember best - our traitors or our heroes?

With contributions from the world of music, literature, movies and - ahem - stand-up comedy, it’s the wisest wise-cracks. A guide for the living.

Jess and I went on the march on Saturday to Parliament, banging on about getting a chance to stop Brexit. For those that missed the big day, here’s a 20-minute montage of the greatest hits.

The story of King Midas, and do we really take the lesson on board? (Er, no.)

I’m standing in a queue trying to fill in a form I can’t understand, waiting to see a man who isn’t here. And I look around, and we’re all doing this. A feeling of seasickness arrives, but I take a deep breath, and keep waiting. There’s only one word for it...

Business culture gurus have decided that the world’s people can be plotted on a scale from peach to coconut. Is it helpful at all? And where do the British and the Chinese sit on this all-important axis?

When I was in China, I was chatting to this guy about the NHS. “That sounds like North Korea,” he told me. So when my dad got cancer, and was going through chemo, we got chatting about what it’s like to go through the NHS system when you’re seriously ill. Spoiler: it’s not like North Korea.

Bond is almost back. Will he die? Will he live? Will he become a woman? But one thing they’re not asking - is Bond too fond of his tipple? Maybe he will Go Sober for October. Or maybe, just maybe, Bond likes his drink shaken because it might help him in a brawl. A barista I talk to in Shanghai thinks this could be why he has his martini shaken, not stirred. Because, you know, that’s pretty unconventional.

Red pops up in many terms and phrases. Here’s a rundown of some of the best.

Part two of a No Going Back double-bill, the story of this ancient metaphor, and do drunk people at a party know what it means?

Back in the olden days in Ancient China, a bloodthirsty leader named Xiang Yu was preparing for battle. The command he gave to his army: “break the cauldrons and sink the boats” (破釜沉舟). The message: no retreat, it’s victory or nothing. The phrase lives on as a Chinese “chengyu”, a 4-character idiom. But modern Chinese generally aren’t warlords, so when is this idiom used? And did Xiang Yu’s gambit pay off?

Welcome to the Manosphere. Twenty years since The Matrix came out, the battlefield of the Culture War takes place in the parallel world that is the internet. The men of the manosphere are taking on feminism and liberalism with coaching videos, irony and memes. And the gateway to the manosphere? The red pill.

Some of the most famous words ever spoken. I find out how well we know them and ask, did Neil get them right?