Jermaine Jaclson on his brother's death

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Transcript:

This is hard…Ah, my brother, the legendary King of pop Michael Jackson, passed away on Thursday June 25th, 2009 at 2:26pm. It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known. His personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother. And ah, as did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Upon arriving, at the hospital at approximately 1:14pm a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour. They were unsuccessful. Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy during these tough times. And ah, we’ll all be with you Michael always…Love you. Thank you very much.

Smart Flight Attendant!

from www.livinginperu.com

A mother and her young son were flying Southwest Airlines from Kansas City to Chicago.

The little boy (who had been looking out the window turned to his mother and asked, "If big dogs have baby dogs and big cats have baby cats, why don't big planes have baby planes?"

The mother (who couldn't think of an answer) told her son to ask the flight attendant.

So the boy went down the aisle and asked the flight attendant, "If big dogs have baby dogs and big cats have baby cats, why don't big plane have baby planes?"

The busy flight attendant smiled and said, "Did your mother tell you to ask me?" The boy said, "Yes, she did."

"Well, then, you go and tell your mother that there are no baby planes because Southwest always pulls out on time. Have your mother explain that to you."

Human Resources: Reviewing Candidates

Reviewing Candidates » flashcard maker

Under the weather

To say that someone is "under the weather" is to say that they are not feeling very well.
Example: "What's wrong?" Answer: "I'm a bit under the weather." They probably have a simple cold or flu which will go away quickly. Example: "It's nothing serious; I'm just a bit under the weather." Being "under the weather" reminds us that a quick change in the weather can affect our health and the way we feel.

What Causes Arthritis?

from http://www.livinginperu.com/

A drunken man who smelled like beer sat down on a subway next to a priest. The man's tie was stained; his face was plastered with red lipstick, and a half-empty bottle of gin was sticking out of his torn coat pocket.

He opened his newspaper and began reading. After a few minutes the man turned to the priest and asked, "Say Father, what causes arthritis?"

The priest replies, "My son, it's caused by loose living, being with cheap, wicked women, too much alcohol, contempt for your fellow man, sleeping around with prostitutes and lack of a bath." The drunk muttered in response "Well, I'll be damned!" Then returned to his paper.

The priest, thinking about what he had said, nudged the man and apologized. "I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to come on so strong. How long have you had arthritis?"

The drunk answered, "I don't have it, Father. I was just reading here that the Pope does."

MORAL: Make sure you understand the question before offering the answer.

English soccer clubs rake in $3.4 billion

(CNN) -- European football clubs are bucking the trend of the worldwide recession, with England's Premier League leading the way after posting $3.4 billion in revenues for the 2007-08 season.

The Premier League extended its financial superiority over its nearest rivals in Germany and Spain to more than $1.4 billion, according to Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance.

This result from its 20 clubs came despite the British pound's 15 percent devaluation against the Euro currency, Deloitte said.

Italy's Serie A was the fastest growing league, increasing its total revenue by 34 percent to $1.99 billion -- with the return of Turin giants Juventus to the top flight contributing two-thirds of that upturn.

The total European football market grew by $1.4 billion to $20.76 billion, fueled by a $995 million increase in the 'big five' leagues plus the staging of the Euro 2008 finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Deloitte's Dan Jones, one of the authors of the report, said he expected English clubs to continue being profitable despite the uncertain economic climate, but perhaps not at the same "remarkable" rate.

"Between 1992 and 2008, revenues for the top 20 clubs grew at a compound annual rate of 16 percent, compared with 5.4 percent for the UK economy as a whole," he said.

"Revenue increased by 26 percent in 2007/08 and Premier League clubs generated $1.3 million more revenue than their nearest rivals from the other 'big 5' leagues.

"It will, of course, be hard to maintain this pace in the immediate future. The new economic realities may lead to flat match-day revenues. While attendances continue to hold up well, many clubs have frozen or reduced ticket prices.

"However, the stepped increases in the current domestic broadcast deal and the new UEFA Champions League TV deal make it likely overall revenues will edge up."

Deloitte said most of the increased broadcast revenue had been spent on player wages and transfers.

Wage costs in the Premier League soared by $372 million, or 23 percent, in 2007/08 to reach $1.96 billion -- which represented its largest annual increase since its inception in 1992.

Chelsea were the biggest spenders on $282 million, ahead of champions Manchester United ($198 million), Arsenal ($165 million) Liverpool ($148 million) and Newcastle ($123 million) -- whose relegation at the end of the 2008/09 season could have dire financial implications for the club.

Meanwhile, Premier League clubs' spending on player transfers in both the summer 2008 and January 2009 transfer windows reached new record levels with an estimated $1.1 billion paid out.

Deloitte's Alan Switzer commented: "Despite this increase in wage costs, Premier League clubs improved their wages/revenue ratio to 62 percent and generated record operating profits in 2007/08 of £185 million ($303 million).

"However lower revenue growth in forthcoming seasons means clubs will have to focus on improving cost control -- both wages and other operating costs -- if profits are to be maintained."

Deloitte said while the Premier League's total debt had risen, two-thirds of this was taken up by the top four clubs -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- and around $2 billion of it was non-interest bearing "soft loans".

"On the positive side of the balance sheet, these four clubs also had £1 billion ($1.64 billion) of assets in respect of investment in stadia and other facilities and a further £450m ($738m) from investment in players," said Deloitte's Paul Rawnsley.

Grammar challenge: 'ed' and 'ing' adjectives

From www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/


'ed' and 'ing adjectives
There are several adjectives in English that have 2 forms: an -ed form and an -ing form. The -ing form is for things, and the -ed form is used to describe our feelings.

-ed form: amazed, amused, annoyed, astonished, bored, confused, depressed, disappointed, disgusted, embarrassed, excited, exhausted, frightened, insulted, interested, intrigued, satisfied, shocked, surprised, tempted, terrified, tired, worried.

-ing form: amazing, amusing, annoying, astonishing, boring, confusing, depressing, disappointing, disgusting, embarrassing, exciting, exhausting, frightening, insulting, interesting, intriguing, satisfying, shocking, surprising, tempting, terrifying, tiring, worrying.


Adjectives are used to give more information about nouns. They're used with the verb 'to be' or with verbs like look, seem, feel, sound, appear, etc.

-ed adjectives: example sentences
I'm not interested in football.
We were all surprised when they got married.
He was shocked at the news.

The lecture made me feel really bored.
She felt very disappointed with her exam results.
The children looked very tired when they got back from the trip.

-ing adjectives: example sentences
I don't think football is a very interesting game.
Their marriage was very surprising.
They thought the news was shocking.

I'm not going to that lecture: it sounds really boring.
Her exam results seemed disappointing, but the university accepted her anyway.
The trip looks very tiring. We'd better go to bed early tonight.

The New Yorker cartoons, June 8, 2009