Profe’s Picks 3:
Aaron Recommends his Stuff Again (again)
Do you need more material to learn English? Are you tired of watching Friends yet?
Well, here is my personalized curated list of English-language media, updated approximately whenever I feel like it.
The Funny
Brooklyn 99 is a sitcom about New York police, led by actors Andy Samberg and Andre Braugher.
The show had me in stitches (laughing very hard). Breaking stereotypes and offering some of the most diverse casting I’ve ever seen, the show highlights good cops, bad cops, dirty cops, dumb cops…and along the way serves up plenty of laughs.
If you have any interest in legal/police English, give Brooklyn 99 a try.
The Kick in the Butt
Mel Robbins podcast
Are you having problems waking up in the morning? Or finding the courage to talk to your boss about a raise?
Well, this Vermont-based, crass blond podcast host may be the kick in the pants you need.
I’ve been catching up on Youtube with the world’s most-booked female speaker, Michigan native Mel Robbins. Her brand of advice is simple and really damn effective when implemented. I can say that from personal experience having lost a lot of weight using the 5 Second Rule a few years ago.
Mel speaks quickly. Her podcast and speeches are great for training your ear to catch what native English speakers are saying.
The Books
Your Aandego host loves to read books and short stories. During the month of July, he finished a very old and creepy short story by George R.R. Martin, The Men of Greywater Station. It’s an succinct man vs. nature story. In typical Martinian fashion, it can be hard to locate ”the good guy”.
Aaron is currently reading:
– Angry Wind by Jeffrey Tayler, a travelogue written by a journalist who traveled across Africa by bus, camel, and car
– Foundation’s Edge by Isaac Asimov, a classic space novel from the 1980s.
The Rage
- Nirvana’s ”Nevermind’‘
Recently those classic Nirvana albums have been turning 30. They are still really great; there’s a reason you see those band hoodies on people all over the world. Not sure what got into me at the end of the long winter, but the grunge crept back into my jogging mix.
Enjoy it. Preferably on a cold morning where you’re just a little pissed-off. It’s perfection.
Have a great August, everybody. Thank you for reading.
Cheers – Aaron
Key Words & Phrases from the Post:
Breaking Stereotypes means…showing that the usual ideas people have about certain groups or roles are not always true. (Eample: Brooklyn 99 became famous for breaking stereotypes about cops, criminals, questioning many common narratives)
Training your ear means…practicing your listening skills so that you can understand more of what people are saying.
Pissed-off…angry, at a high level. This is a compound adjective, written with two words and a hyphen in the middle.
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