Website: Google Presents Photos of Post-Tsunami Japan

A quick message on the Google Map update. Google has rolled out an update showing photographs of the post-tsunami Japan for users to see the images of even the most devastated Fukushima up close.

Here are some of the photos I captured from the website.

No Photos near Fukushima Nuclear Power Plants
Images from Google

Although it is not a pleasant view, it is worthwhile to understand the power of nature and see how people continue their lives in the areas.

The website is listed in the resources below.

Do "Like" the entry and "Like" the English Playground

Vocabulary:
devastated -- (adj) completely destroyed
worthwhile -- (adj) useful, important or good enough to be a suitable reward for the money or time spent or the effort made

Resources:


Memories for the Future - Street View @ Google
http://www.miraikioku.com/streetview/en/after


Google Makes Street View Images Of Post-Tsunami Japan Available On Custom Site @ TC
http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/13/google-makes-street-view-images-of-post-tsunami-japan-available-on-custom-site/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/devastated_1?q=devastated
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/worthwhile?q=worthwhile+

Slang & Vocabulary: Slang that I Won't Learn from Dictionaries

Image from kingdomofstyle.typepad.co.uk

In August 2009, I posted an article titled News & Vocab: Foul Language targeting Female, in May 2010 I wrote Vocabulary: Men's World, then in October 2011, I produced Vocabulary: A Helpless Man Sponge Naitard, that is almost like one article a year. Wondering if I will post some more a bit more frequently?

It is one of my habits to look around in the dictionary at times and I found some words that I have never heard of but said to be popular by the Cambridge Dictionary, let's give it a go and see what they offer.

I DON'T blindly learn new words as some words are pretty redundant, so old-fashioned words are filtered out and new words are reinterpreted by me.

House Husband
Image from custommaid.biz

In my opinions,"New Man" sounds very much the same as "house husband" to me and I don't feel like learning "New Man" just to replace "house husband" because the latter is so much easier to remember. In a sense that "housewife" is enough and "homemaker" sounds redundant in a way that it doesn't show any wit in its creation.


A "bit of rough" sounds to me that it is literately referring to physical labour, people who need to work using more muscles than brains, so I don't know how that is applicable to the dictionary's definition if the boyfriend is from an upper class and the girlfriend is from a middle class. Just doesn't sound so right even in the reverse case.

Stuck-up
Image from hellaemo.com

A "God's Gift" to me sounds very positive and prestigious and so it is understandable when it is used negatively by someone who tastes sour grapes, but then when a person really is jealous of another, will they be so nice with their wordings and call them "God's Gift"? I doubt it! Even in the case of backstabbing. And the dictionary offers "Lady Muck" as the female version, well maybe, but wouldn't a "stuck-up" be even more direct?

A Suit
Image from askmen.com

A "Suit" doesn't sound negative to me at all! And I do think that this is very confusing considering almost everybody who works in a bigger and more proper company wears a suit, then how aggressive or disapproving can this word sound when one person calls another a "suit"? More ironically, what if the person who said it actually wears a suit himself? Really want to learn some words to describe business people, why not read my other entries such as Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- The Boss Group, The Law Group, The Cash Group, and The Sales Group?

WAG
Image from footballtournaments4u.com

Dictionary also says a "footballer's wife" is, in short, a beautiful extravagant married woman. I totally disagree with this! True, being big-spending and beautiful are what some footballers' wives behaves like, but this doesn't imply to any other married women!!! Also, the proper slang is not even "footballer's wife", it is "WAG"!!! People who watch football games on TV or read football news know this word! "WAG" is a short form of "Wives And Girlfriends" and it is specifically used to describe these footballers' lovers!

Lady Gaga
Image from cache.interscope.com

Talking about "Lady Muck", comparing this to Lady Gaga, I think "Gaga" is an even more popular word! The name Lady Gaga came from the singer's love of a song "Radio Ga Ga" by the band Queen [1].

Radio Ga Ga by Queen
Image from Wikipedia

But gaga is also a word with meanings, 1) unable to think clearly because of old age, 2) having strong but temporary love for someone.

Looks like we have to be careful what we learn from dictionaries.

Vocabulary:
New Man -- (n) [C] Mainly UK a man who believes that women and men are equal and should be free to do the same things, and who does tasks and shows emotions that were traditionally considered only suitable for women
house husband -- (n)[C] a man who stays at home and cleans the house, takes care of the children, etc. while his wife goes out to work
homemaker -- (n)[C] mainly US a woman who manages a home and often raises children instead of earning money from a job
bit of rough -- UK humorous someone, usually a man, from a lower social class than their sexual partner
God's Gift -- (n)  [U] disapproving If you say that someone thinks or behaves as if they are God's gift (to someone or something), you mean that they believe that they are better than anyone else
Lady Muck --  [S] UK informal disapproving a woman who thinks she is very important and should be treated better than everyone else
sour grapes -- If you describe someone's behaviour or opinion as sour grapes, you mean that they are angry because they have not got or achieved something that they wanted
stuck-up -- (n)[C] a person who thinks they are above the rest
suit -- (n) [C often plural] informal mainly disapproving a man who works in an office and wears a suit, especially a man with a high position in a company who is considered not to have human feelings and good ideas
footballer's wife --  (n) [C] or humorous a beautiful woman who has a rich husband and does not work, but spends a lot of time buying expensive things and taking care of her appearance
extravagant -- (adj) spending too much money, or using too much of something
WAG -- (n) plural "Wives And Girlfriends" of the footballers
gaga -- (adj) informal unable to think clearly and make decisions because of old age; senile;
[after verb] having a strong but usually temporary love for someone





Resources:
News & Vocab: Foul Language targeting Female @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2009/08/news-vocab.html

Vocabulary: Men's World  @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/05/vocabulary-mens-world.html

Vocabulary: A Helpless Man Sponge Naitard @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/10/vocabulary-helpless-man-sponge-naitard.html

How To Spot A Gold Digger @ Askmen.com
http://www.askmen.com/dating/doclove_100/138_relationship_expert.html


Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- The Boss Group @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/05/business-vocabulary-cogs-boss-group.html


Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- The Law Group @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/05/business-vocabulary-cogs-law-group.html


Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- The Cash Group @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/06/business-vocabulary-cogs-cash-group.html


Business Vocabulary: The Cogs -- The Sales Group @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/06/business-vocabulary-cogs-sales-group.html

[1] Lady Gaga @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Gaga

Radio Ga Ga @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Ga_Ga
http://www.lyrics007.com/Queen%20Lyrics/Radio%20Ga%20Ga%20Lyrics.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/topics/kinds-of-men/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/topics/kinds-of-women/
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/new-man
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/house-husband?q=house+husband
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/homemaker
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/bit-of-rough
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/god-s-gift
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/sour-grapes?q=sour+grapes#sour-grapes__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/lady-muck?q=lady+muck
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stuck%20up
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/suit_4
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/footballer-s-wife
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WAG
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/extravagant?q=extravagant+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gaga_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gaga_2

Health and Medical: Understanding Cancer & Metastasis

House and Wilson (the oncologist)
Bromantic = (brother + romantic)
Image from articulatelove.files.wordpress.com 

Suddenly filled with disease terms in my head after watching yet another 5 episodes of House M.D. and this round, metastasis got my attention. In particular as Dr. House puts it,

"Cancer plays the field. Metastasis is just a fancy word for 'screws around.'"

Which kind of summarises the key idea of metastasis.

How does cancer screws around? Or before that, what is cancer?

Before we start to do our reading, I found a video on YouTube that can enhance our understanding first, so that the later reading can be absorbed much easier. I have added a playlist which includes 5 videos so far, do watch them all.

I have put this one separately in case you have want to jump ahead.

There is of course a lot of information elsewhere on the internet, but I would like to pick out a few key points which are useful and interest me.

To begin with, cancer begins when a cell suffers progressive genetic damages to produce a cancer stem cell is able to continuously duplicates itself (called mitosis) and  the site of where the cancer originates is called "primary tumor". If a cancer stem cell does travel to another part of the same organ, it will produce again forming nodules called 'daughter tumors' and the process is called local metastasis. [1]

If a cancer stem cell survives its travel to another organ and develops into a tumor in that organ, the tumor is called a secondary tumor or a metastatic tumor. Such new tumors will remain as the cells of the organ it originates from. Meaning if a pancreas cancer metastasizes to the lungs, it is called metastatic pancreas cancer, and the cells in the secondary tumors in the lungs are still cells of the pancreas. [1]

Here a diagram of the routes of cancer metastasis:

Main sites of metastases for some common cancer types.
Primary cancers are denoted by "...cancer" and their main
metastasis sites are denoted by "...metastases".
Image from Wikipedia

As such, abnormal breast cells could be found in the liver, lungs, brain or bones. Theory has it that "diagnosis of metastatic cancers is only possible after the event of metastasis", in other words, metastatic cancers are detectable after they have occurred. [1]

Metastatic cancers are treatable by various methods, "radiosurgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy, surgery or a combination of these", depending on the type, size, location, spread, stage of the cancer.[1]

Finally, as English learners, you may ask, "do we actually need to know these?"

My answer will be, yes, because these are in fact very common knowledge amount the English speakers, and by knowing them, you will definitely benefit yourself in discussions, let alone the crucial knowledge you have gained.

By the way, a doctor who practices oncology (study of cancer) is an oncologist.

Do "Like" this entry and "Like" our English Playground on Facebook!

Vocabulary:
metastasis -- (n) [U]  
metastasize -- (vb) [I] If cancer cells metastasize, they spread to other parts of the body and cause tumours (= a mass of cells) to grow there.
metastatic -- (adj) 
screw around -- phrasal verb offensive to have sex with a lot of people or with people other than your husband or wife
nodule --  [C] specialized a small raised area or swelling
primary tumor 
secondary tumor / metastatic tumor
diagnosis -- (n)  [C or U] (plural diagnoses) a judgment about what a particular illness or problem is, made after examining it
radiosurgery
chemotherapy / chemo -- (n)[U] the treatment of diseases using chemicals
oncology -- (n)[U] the study and treatment of tumours (= masses of cells) in the body
oncologist -- (n)[C] 


Resources:
Metastasis @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrMq8uA_6iA

[1] Metastasis @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metastasis

Not Cancer @ House MD Quotes
http://www.housemdquotes.com/502_not_cancer.html

Cancer Stem Cells @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_stem_cell

Mitosis @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitosis

Medical Playlist @ Locky's English Playground YouTube Channel Playlist
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD9C129A22484F7D4

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/metastasize?q=metastasis+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/screw-around?q=screw+around+#screw-around__2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/nodule?q=nodule+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/diagnosis?q=diagnosis
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/chemotherapy?q=chemotherapy+
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncologist
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/oncology?q=oncology+

Technology: Tricks and Tips for Galaxy SII?

Samsung Galaxy SII (left) iPhone 4/4S (right) screen size comparison

Student Ella has been throwing me various questions about using her new Galaxy SII, which has inspired me to write the entry Technology: How to Use Your Galaxy SII? (Updated 6th Dec, 2011), then she has inspired me once again to write this one after asking me how to change the brightness on the home page! Although she had already found out the answer to that, I have found many more tricks from YouTube!

These tricks are really good and really does make using Galaxy SII even faster and cooler! I sure love my Galaxy SII now because it is so smart!!

iPhone fans waiting for The Next Big Thing

But before we watch the video, let me first steal the limelight and give you two personal tips!

Data Network Mode

Flight Mode @ Phone options
Image from img.gadgetian.com

When I get home, the first thing I do is to switch off the 3G and use Wi-Fi, but going into Settings is too much of pressing. Then I discovered a very quick way to switch on and off the 3G.

All you need to do is, same as the Flight mode, we hold the button on the right and the Phone options menu will pop up, and press Data network mode, it will then activate or deactivate your 3G, just press 2 buttons in total!! Amazing!


Switch On and Off Wi-Fi
To switch on and off the Wi-Fi, just repeat what I have said in the earlier entry,

Quick Drag-Down Settings
Image from cdn-static.cnet.co.uk

Go to Desktop page --> Touch the black bar on the top --> Drag down the bar

From here, you can press the buttons to activate / deactivate your Wi-Fi.

Now the following video is one of the best I have watched! The accent is quite Indian but it is not a bad practice for your ears! Give it a whirl!

For more videos on mobile technology, you can watch our English Playground YouTube playlist:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6C2CA97EC44DA4DE

Sorry iOS 5. You may look prettier but you are just not good enough in terms of flexibility.

And, Galaxy SII is not even at full potential yet!!!!! 

Why? Because it is still running Gingerbread! (2.3.5).

Can you imagine how good things will get when SII gets Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0)? Well, no need to wait, here's how it will look like!!!!!!

I LOVE MY SII!!!! SII-ians! Congratulations!

Do "Like" this entry and "Like" our English Playground on Facebook!

Resources:
Technology: How to Use Your Galaxy SII? (Updated 6th Dec, 2011) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/12/technology-how-to-use-your-galaxy-sii.html

Mobile Technologu @ Locky's English Playground YouTube playlist
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6C2CA97EC44DA4DE

Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) on Galaxy S II [Walkthrough] @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZwMzVn1sg&feature=related

Movie & Vocabulary: The Bride of Gingy @ Scared Shrekless

Since the entry "Technology: How to Use Your Galaxy SII? (Updated 6th Dec, 2011)", some readers find it really funny and want to learn the words in it, so as a request, I'm going to do a detail explanation of the scary story called "The Bride of Gingy" from Shrek, more precisely, from a spin-off of Shrek, a 21 min movie called Scared Shrekless (2010)! This clip is so funny that I have watched over 20 times and I'm still laughing! And, it has lots of English to learn!

"Like" this entry and subscribe to the English Playground!

Buckle up, everybody. The quicker I scare the wits out of you lot, the sooner I can be home, cozy in my bed. Unless anyone else thinks they've got what it takes. Oh! Oh! Pick me, pick me! I have a scary story! This isn't the one about you getting trapped in the petting zoo again, is it? - 'Cause that's not scary. - Actually...If you look at it from my perspective... Hey, guess what, Pinocchio, no one cares! Get ready to send these jokers home, Shrek, 'cause I've got a doozy...and it's all true! It was a dark and stormy night... Gingy? My girlfriend kicked me out. I don't know, something about me being too into myself. Blah, blah, blah, yack, yack, yack. You? But you are so adorable. I know! That's what I keep telling her! I need a good woman, Muffin Man. Ah. I can help you, Gingy. - How about this one? - Aw, I dunno. - You like her, huh? - Nope. Weird hair. - How about this one? - Too skinny. No! Don't like it! Okay. Well, how about this one? Yes! That's it! Ah! She's perfect. The girl of my dreams. Wait! More sugar. But that is not the recipe. Trust me, Muffin Man, this girl's gotta be real sweet. I want someone who will love me forever. I must warn you, Gingy. No one has ever made cookies with this much sugar. You are tampering with forces far beyond your comprehension! Just put her in the oven! Ah ha ha ha ha! Ah ha ha ha... Ow! Ha ha ha ha! Hey. I get a little privacy? - Huh? - Take a hike. Oh, oui. Oh, my gosh, I'm in love! A cookie angel. Wow! And you're hot too! Hello? Hello? Oh... I guess it didn't work. Ha ha! Gingy, is it you? The one I was made for? Oh, we'll be together forever. Sweet! ♪ I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my life ♪ ♪ When you're with me baby, the skies'll be blue for all my life ♪ ♪ Me and you and you and me no matter how they toss the dice ♪ ♪ It had to be the only one for me is you and you for me ♪ ♪ So happy together ♪ - Are ya happy, Gingy? - You bet! The time since I met you has been the best...7 and a 1/2 minutes of my life. Good! Because this is only the beginning. I'm going to love you and hold you and feed you and dress you and cling to you... - Yeah... Hang on to you and smother you with my love. - Yeah... - Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever... - You know, it's gettin' a little stuffy in here. You know, I might go get some air. Oh, no, you don't. Oh, no... Not without your umbrella. - Come on! - Here, let me get that. Wait for me! Sugar, could you just do me one small, little teensy favor? Anything. Could you leave me alone for like 30 seconds? Anything but that. You know, I forgot my gumdrop buttons. Yeah! Could you run over there and get 'em for me, please? Sure, I can. I'll be right back. ♪ Gingy, Gingy ♪ Run, run, run, as fast as you can if you wanna remain a gingerbread man! Oh! - Oh, Gingy. - Whaa... I don't understand. - I thought you were happy! - Oh, well... It's all my fault. I should have tried harder! No, no, no! Don't try harder! Maybe I'm not pretty enough. I can be pretty... really pretty! The girl of your dreams. - Aah! Remember? Farewell! Gingy! Let go, Gingy! Fall with me...so we can be together forever! Here's a thought...You let go! Together! Together fore... Boy, what a night! I'm so glad that is over with! Oh! Oh, well. Nothing lasts forever. - In sports... Together forever. Aah! Together forever. Together forever. Together forever. What a nice surprise! Together forever. Together forever. Together forever. Together forever. - Hey... So what's up? - Together forever. I think we both may have said some things I might regret. - Together forever! - Gosh, your eye is pretty! Look, I know you're upset, so... Aah! Why don't we just sit down...and discuss this? Then... they ate me! Wee, wee, wee, wee, wee, wee! They're gonna do that all the way home. I... I gotta go. They're my ride. Wait a minute. If they ate you, how is it that you're still here? Did you not say this was a true story? Um...You made it up, didn't ya? I... hey, look! Lord Farquaad's ghost! Aah! Doody heads!

Vocabulary:
spin-off -- (n)[C] a programme or other show involving characters from a previous programme or film
buckle up -- phrasal verb UK (US buckle up) to fasten the belt that keeps you in your seat in a car or a plane
wit -- (n) [S or U] the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way
cozy -- (adj) (US for cosy) comfortable and pleasant, especially (of a building) because small and warm
petting zoo -- (n) [C] US an open area where small or young animals are kept which children can hold, touch and sometimes feed
doozy -- (adj) an extraordinary one of its kind
adorable -- (adj) describes a person or animal that is easy to love because they are so attractive and often small
tamper with sb phrasal verb to touch or make changes to something which you should not, usually without enough knowledge of how it works or when you are trying to damage it
take a hike -- US informal a rude way of telling someone to leave
you bet -- informal used to emphasize a statement or to mean 'certainly'
cling -- (vb) [I + adverb or preposition] to stick onto or hold something or someone tightly, or to refuse to stop holding them
smother -- (vb)[T] to kill someone by covering their face so that they cannot breathe
stuffy -- (adj) disapproving A stuffy a room or building is unpleasant because it has no fresh air
teensy -- (adj) tiny
gumdrop --  (n) [C] (also gum) a chewy sweet that usually has a fruit flavour
doody -- (n)[U] (slang, childish) Excrement, poop, poo poo.

Resources:

Technology: How to Use Your Galaxy SII? (Updated 6th Dec, 2011) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/12/technology-how-to-use-your-galaxy-sii.html


Scared Shrekless @ IMDb
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1725156/

Gingy!! @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/xvHwHqaThi8

Scared Shrekless (en) Script
www.subswiki.com/original/6571/0

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/spin-off?q=spin-off
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/belt-up_2#belt-up_2__2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/wit_1?q=wit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cosy_1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cozy?q=cozy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/petting-zoo?q=petting+zoo+
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doozy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/adorable?q=adorable+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/tamper-with-sth?q=tamper+#tamper-with-sth__2
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/take-a-hike#take-a-hike__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/you-bet?q=you+bet#you-bet__1
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/cling_1?q=cling
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/smother_1?q=smother
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/stuffy_1?q=stuffy
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teensy
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gumdrop?q=gumdrop+
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/doody