Misterduncan in writing !

GOODBYE 2011

2011-12-31T18:16:00.001Z

So we have come to the end of what must be, one of the most traumatic and eventful years for a long - long time. Twenty eleven will be remembered for so many reasons. Most of them tragic and some of them needless. Natural disasters and political unrest, with a smattering of scandal here and there, along with the passing away of some notable people made 2011 the year it was. Of course all of these things occur, but the regularity and impact that these events had on the world, still reverberate now...and will for the foreseeable future. So we wave a slightly relieved goodbye to 2011, what will 2012 have in store for us? Well if I knew the answer to that, I would be on TV with my own show, 'Misterduncan - sooth-seer extraordinaire'. Sadly I do not posses any psychic powers and come to think of it, nor does anyone else for that matter. (Obviously)

January 1st will see in the new year again and I'm sure by now, you must have some resolutions made, such as lose some weight, work harder, make more friends, stop smoking, stop drinking, phone mum, start talking to the neighbours more, be more happy....and so on.

From my own point of view there are many new challenges ahead. Not least of all the one facing many people across the world. The financial crises affecting many so-called 'power' economies will no doubt put an even greater strain on the people living in those countries affected by the 'meltdown'. Needless to say, the UK is one such place. So as to keep on making my lessons and supporting myself, I will need to make some changes and cutbacks. My ideas are big, but the effort (and money) needed to see them through present many obstacles.

But those are for me to worry about and I will not be looking on the bleak side too much, as almost nothing is certain, even if, at times, it may seem so. However one thing is for sure - the following 12 months will present us with some surprises and maybe the odd shock or two, but I like to think that it surely cannot all be doom and gloom. I still believe in maintaining a positive attitude and being optimistic. As the old saying goes...''Hope springs eternal.''

My English lessons will continue and a new series of lessons will begin in February. I hope to do more travelling this year as well. All though that all depends on how other things progress. As we say in English I will 'play it by ear', in other words, I'll see what happens and deal with the problems as they occur.

For 2012 I have decided to return to writing pieces for my blog. You could say that it is one of my new year's resolutions. So expect regular updates and the occasional comment on what is going on around us and my humble opinion. Whether you agree or disagree...is up to you. That is one of the great things about sharing over the internet. A force that should never be underestimated. As 2011 has well and truly shown.

I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2012.

(Misterduncan)

<<< OCTOBER 1st 2011 >>>

2011-10-15T20:01:00.000+01:00

<< IN WITH THE NEW >>

2010-02-18T20:00:00.014Z

Misterduncan & Mr Steve at the new 'Hat For Rent' studios.

So as we say a cheery hello to mid-February and with the prospect of springtime just around the corner, now is a good time to begin something new. In my case there are two new ventures. First I have obtained my own production studio, which I moved in to a few days ago. This was not an easy process as I was right in the middle of filming lesson 55, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone and did some of the filming during the setting up period. So my months of searching for premises and the many hours trying to explain what I do in a formal way has finally come to fruition. Hat For Rent Productions now has a studio base. From now on all of my filming will take place there. Also I have some nice new outdoor locations to film around and at...some of which you can see in my new lesson, all about love (Lesson 55).

The other big change for me this month will be the launch of my new YouTube Channel. The first new videos will be available on Saturday 20th February. The Channels name is 'askmisterduncan' and will offer my viewers the chance to send in questions about learning English. The e-mail address will be posted on this date, as well as the first (Pilot) edition of 'Ask Misterduncan'. This second Channel will offer a new video every week!

So it is all go for me and no time to sit back and rest. I hope you will enjoy my new work and find it helpful. So the first video will be posted there on 20/02/10. Next week I will be building a new set in the studio, but before then you will be able to see what this new base looks like when you watch 'Ask Misterduncan' on Saturday.

This is an exciting time and I hope together we can all have a fun and exciting time in the world of English!

Channel URL -- http://youtube.com/askmisterduncan

(Misterduncan) ................................................................

(( End of an Era ))

2010-02-04T13:35:00.008Z

The cut throat world of business is not one for the faint-hearted. Maybe now more than ever, running a business requires a certain type of thinking. The biggest threat of course are your rivals. The ones doing the same thing as you. The choices are simple. Beat them or Buy them! This has been the case with the recent events concerning one of the oldest companies in the world. The chocolate makers Cadbury.

This company was founded 186 years ago by John Cadbury in the Midlands City of Birmingham. From a small shop, he grew the business into the huge global company it is today. Of course being a large global company means that the one or two other large global companies may feel that they are losing out in some way. So in steps huge USA company Kraft, who in 2008 really wanted that firm for themselves. Rather like a child pressing their nose up against the window of...well...a sweet shop!

So the offers and negotiations began. The offering of money to shareholders was the most viable way of 'sweetening' the deal. After the first couple of offers from Kraft the management at Cadbury stood firm and gave a resounding 'NO' to the crafty people at Kraft. They stood firm and refused to budge. The great British firm was safe from the meddling 'Yanks'!

Then something happened. The crafty Kraft people offered even more money. They thought that this would help melt the stubbornness of the management and shareholders. Hey Guess what? It did! Cadbury accepted the deal, realising that those with lots of share will stand to make loads of cash. Suddenly all that gritty patronism and steadfast solidarity did indeed melt like a bar of Dairy Milk on the dashboard of a car on a summer's day. The boys and girls at Cadbury flaked!! Such is the power of money eh? So a great British institution, which has flown the flag of the UK for 186 years has been snapped up in the blink of an eye. Well almost. As they still do not fully own the company, then they can not say that Cadbury is part of the Kraft Group. They merely are the chief owners. A subtle difference maybe, but it should prevent Kraft from messing with the branding and design of the products...for the time being.

Of course the big worry now is how this takeover will affect jobs. It is only a matter of time before cost-cutting measures are taken and it is inevitable the the birthplace of Cadbury (Bournville in Birmingham) will suffer job losses. They say it will not happen, but we all know it will.

My feeling is of sadness, as here in the UK we have so little of our own industry or commercial enterprise still intact. Most is owned by the USA, China...and Russia! I suppose this is the way business is done these days. It is the price we must pay for globalisation, but for me I feel that it is a slightly too high price to pay, when a chunk of Britain's past is broken off and gobbled up.

.....................(Misterduncan)..................................

< 2010 - Change is coming !! >

2010-01-30T17:31:00.013Z

So January has already flown by and is about to bid us all 'adieu'. It is strange how the transition in to this particular year has gone so smoothly. I usually find myself sensing a feeling of confusion and disarray during the first month, but this year is different. Maybe it is because I have so many plans for this particular coming twelve months.

If you are a follower of my YouTube channel, you will know that there have already been some changes taking place. Well, there are more to come...

During January I announced the launch of a second YouTube Channel. This has already been revealed, but the official launch has not taken place yet. Although this has not stopped almost 500 people already subscribing to it. This channel will work in a different way to my first one because you will be able to directly contact me via e-mail and ask me a question about learning English, or a query about my video teaching work. Not surprisingly, this channel will be called 'askmisterduncan'. I have not yet announced the e-mail address. That will happen in early February. The great thing about this new channel is that there will be a new video made every week!! Needless to say this will give me a lot more work to do, but if there is a real need for it, then I'm willing to give up my time to do it.

Also this year I will be making some changes to the videos already on my first channel. You may notice some of the earlier lessons disappearing over the next few weeks. I have decided to remake some of my earlier lessons and in some cases slightly re-edit other ones. I'm already doing this with...Lesson 17, Lesson 28 and with Lesson 52. These lessons will all be back on soon with some slight changes made to them.

I have been overwhelmed by the response to the new Lesson 6. This lesson is all about being happy and feeling sad. The comments and personal messages I have received about this video have really moved me. It was not an easy lesson to make. I really wanted to put across the deep emotions connected to these feelings through the visuals, the music, and of course the words. Most people have commented on the scene where I sit alone under the tree and the message I convey during that sequence.

I have just posted my newest lesson (54) to my channel. This was filmed during the recent heavy snow which fell all across the UK. I took advantage of this weather and did quite a lot of filming over two days, including some bits to camera. It is not as easy as it looks, performing and conveying long passages whilst standing in the freezing cold, but I managed it. I ended up spending a total of 6 hours outside in the snow. Setting up the camera in these conditions is really tricky. Especially on the second day, when the snow was still falling as I filmed. I had to constantly wipe the lens as the snow landed on it. In some scenes you can see little blobs of snow on the lens slowly melting as I'm filming. A little annoying, but there is not much I can do.

So back to my plans for this year. Well I'm still hoping to get some studio facilities soon, which will allow me to have a permanent base and give me more freedom to create many more lessons. The weekly video filming will require a new look and this will only be possible in a studio environment.

(Wish me luck!)

So I hope that 2010 will be a fun year...for all of us!

That is all for now. I'm re-editing lesson 17 now.

Thank you for reading and a big hello to my new followers here on blogspot.

Stay Happy !!

...........(Misterduncan)............................................................

Learning English-Lesson Fifty Four ( Winter Snow )

2010-01-30T16:36:00.002Z

This is my latest lesson. Number 54.
Taking a walk in the English winter wonderland !!

Learning English - Lesson Six ( Happy / Sad )

2010-01-12T12:30:00.002Z

The new Lesson 6. I talk about feeling happy and sad. The lesson was filmed between December 21st and 24th 2009. The Wrekin shots were filmed on December 28th 2009.

<<< 2010 is here !! >>>

2010-01-11T16:43:00.012Z

So this is my first post of 2010. I would like to wish all of you a happy new year and let us hope that it will be better than the last one. Although it could have been worse I guess. Here in the UK we saw the old year out with some drama, provided by mother nature herself. Yes you have guessed it...the weather! We have been experiencing a very cold spell, which began in mid-December and has continued to bite into the nation right up until now. Needless to say the news media really got themselves into a tizz over this sudden outbreak of...'winterness'. The various news outlets seemed unable to decide just how bad this weather actually was. Some said it was the worst winter since 1991...some said it was worse than the winter of 1984 and some just threw out all those statistics and went the whole way, by saying it is the worst winter weather for over 100 years! Oh yes that terrible winter of 19-0-something or other. Yes that was quite a bummer! We all remember it so well. Of course I should not be surprised by all this (over) reacting. If there is one thing the British people love talking about - it is the weather. In fact I have written a similar post here before, way back in 2007.

Of course this current situation could not continue without some sort of drama...and we got one, when the media found out that there may not be enough salt and grit to treat the roads with. As the snow had fallen over a period of two days and some local councils had not been able to clear all of the roads, then this was taken as some sort of crisis. News reporters were going to remote locations and standing in snow-covered fields or even better, at salt storage depots. 'The salt and grit is running out!'. We were told again and again. 'It is like gold-dust!', they exclaimed. 'We are all doomed!'. Well they did not actually say the last one, but it was inferred a number of times during the very frequent and tedious segments, which news channels had decided to churn out every few minutes. 'And now the latest on the weather'. Having only just shown us a frozen news reporter shivering next to a frozen lake, we really did not need an update. It was unlikely that a mass-thaw had occurred anywhere within the last few minutes, but still they all blathered on, giving us their forecasts of more terrible weather to come and using words such as 'Grip' and 'Hit' and 'Battered' and 'Clutch'. You would think were were listening to a report on a wrestling match rather than the consequences of a season which has been an annual fixture in this part of the world for millions of years. Every year we act surprised by these sudden seasonal changes. It is as if we had never seen winter, or come to think of it, summer, ever before. When it suddenly becomes hot, we panic...and when it suddenly becomes chilly, we panic.

During my time in China, I was able to bear witness to some pretty extreme weather. As the City I was staying in was stuck right in the middle of nowhere and its nearest neighbour was the Gobi Desert, I was guaranteed some wild and wacky conditions. The summers were hot and dry and the winter months were grey and bitter with what can only be described as an ever-present Arctic wind blowing through every nook and cranny of your soul. I was lucky enough to get the chance to experience sub-sub zero temperatures of -30. Yes 30 degrees below zero! This is one of the most barren places on earth. Having experienced this particular climate over a four year period I can safely say that winter 2009 in the UK felt like a beach-towel in July, when compared with the Inner Mongolia ones.

So what is the situation today? Well everyone has calmed down a little and we seem to have survived this wintry calamity relatively unscathed. Of course during this harsh weather, there will always be those individuals who think it would be a good idea to walk over to the middle of a frozen lake or river and see what happens when their body weight is exerted onto the thin icy surface. Of course they fall through the ice and die. I wonder how long it will be before death certificates can have the cause of a persons demise to be... 'Death caused by STUPIDITY'. It would certainly speed up the coroners job.

I think each British household should have a booklet pushed through their door, giving all the 'hidden' dangers that lay in wait for us all. Maybe I can publish my own!

1- Do not eat razor blades

2- Do not push broken glass into your eye

3- Do not stick your wet finger into the power outlet.

4- Do not jump off a tall building

.....(Unless death is the result you wish)

5- Do not put your new-born baby inside a microwave oven.

6- Do not store poison in a cough medicine bottle.

7- Do not buy the box set of 'How I met your mother'.

8- Do not drive a car after consuming lots of alcohol

9- Do not drink scolding hot coffee or tea,

......or pour it into your lap.

10- Do not walk on frozen lakes or rivers.

(Misterduncan) .......................................

<< Un-Welcome To London >>

2009-12-11T12:23:00.007Z

Every year people from all over the world flock in their thousands to see the sights and experience the atmosphere of the glitzy, fashion-conscious, cool, sophisticated, chic, centre of all which is hip and happening. Yes, the City of London! But for all those of you who are thinking of booking that dream tour of the gold-paved cosmopolitan capital of Europe, think again. For the tourist has been deemed a terrorist threat and the London Police are going out of their way to make sure you do not have a nice time. There is no finer example of this paranoia, than the ever increasing number of people being verbally intimidated by security guards and police officers on duty in the capital. What is the reason for this harassment? For doing nothing more than taking a nice snap-shot of their visit to bendy-bus land. Yes if you are one of those shady characters who enjoys nothing more than taking a trip and recording the happy times by taking photographs, which you will stick into a big album or make a video postcard with, then think again.

People are now being told NOT to take photographs in London, for fear that they may be gathering information for a terrorist attack. In some cases the victim of this harassment is told to hand the camera over to the official, or they are forced to delete the 'offending' pictures. There have been more and more documented cases of people being made to feel like criminals, when all they are doing is taking a picture to send to Auntie Freda! I would have guessed, like many others, that if someone wanted to get a lay of the land in Laaaandan, then all they need do is click on 'Google Street View'. Lots of nice shots from both the sky and the ground. Maybe instead of picking on the public we should arrest the owners of Google?

This situation has affected me personally and my work has suffered. I was planning to do some video filming in London for a future lesson, but after various enquiries I found that I would not be allowed to film in most parts of the capital. This seems almost unbelievable as I'm a British citizen and will be using the camera for legitimate purposes. Of course there is another side to this story. Yes you have guessed it...Money! You can get permission to film in some places but you may find yourself having to hand over cash for that privilege. Still want to visit London? The UK is a big place and I can assure you that there are far better places to see here than the smelly, fume-filled 'Smoke' (A slang word for London).

The problem with cities like London is that they are born from an image, which is often given through the media and movies as a friendly, chic, sophisticated metropolis. Of course after you have paid for the flight and the over-priced hotel accommodation and been cheated by the cab drivers, and had to fight off aggressive 'big issue' sellers and the abusive drunk...well it is all a little too late to complain. So the new threat of being accused of working for Bin Laden can be added to the list of merry moments which can only come from spending time in one of the most unfriendly, pretentious, impersonal, over-rated cities on this planet.

Welcome to London - Enjoy your stay !!

(Misterduncan) .......................................................................

Misterduncan's Triple X X Xmas !! (2009)

2009-12-08T19:52:00.002Z

This is my festive holiday video. It took two weeks to film and edit. All music was paid for by myself...from my own pocket! Feel free to sing along...The words are next to the video. Seasons greetings and have a happy 2010 !!
(Misterduncan)

<<< 2009 - An Up-Down Year !! >>>

2009-11-25T19:34:00.010Z

So as we approach the final month of 2009, it is time to look back over the past year and take stock of what has occurred. From a personal perspective, my life has been fair to middling. I have been quite busy with my work. I feel a little disappointed that I did not achieve all of my goal this year. I had intended to make more video lessons, sadly due to the fact that I make these lessons all by myself, this task is not an easy one. In the early days I could film and edit a lesson in a week, but these days, because of the very nature of the videos and the techniques I use to make them, they now take much longer to produce. There are various reasons for this. As I said just, the filming is much more complicated and due to the fact that they are made in my house means that there is a great deal of setting up involved before any filming can start. Filming can take up to five days to complete and sometimes there is a break between shoots, of up to a week. I also find these days that I'm more willing to re-shoot parts of a lesson I'm unhappy with. This happened during the making of lessons 51 and 52. In fact I was so unhappy with how lesson 52 was going that I actually thought seriously of scrapping the whole project. Something I have never done before.

My plan this year was to find a place to film my lessons in. My first thought was to use a small office space. I thought that there would be somewhere I could rent and set up my studio permanently. However the costs involved here would have been sky-high. My new option is to move into a proper studio, which will give me more space to move in and will also allow me to have a permanent base from which to work. So I have replaced the office idea with the purpose built property proposal. This will mean that I will have to structure my work more carefully and try to make a real living out of my work. It is strange how my teaching work and my interest in video making has combined is this way. What I need to do now it make it pay.

As you all know my video lessons are posted for free and this will continue in the future. My aim is to keep this going, as I want as many people as possible, in as many countries as possible to have the chance to practice their English....for free!

So how to make something for free and make a living? This is a tough question and not one I have a definite answer to. So I'm hoping that by expanding what I do, I can earn enough to run a studio, with all the facilities needed to carry on making the lessons, and make them more interesting and vivid. I have already taken on private video making work and this was a good experience for me as it gave me the chance to expand my skills and earn a little cash. I was lucky enough to be asked to film a couple of amateur stage performances, which were both warmly commented on by those who watched them on DVD.

Many people have asked if there are any DVD's available of my lessons. At this time the answer is no. But in the future, if there is a demand for it, I may issue a Misterduncan DVD. We will see what happens. So as you can see, my aims are high, but the same problems exist as before. How to pay for it? I'm not the sort of person who desires wealth or riches. My one and only concern is to be able to do what I do well enough to help others, while being able to keep my belly full for a day!

So my resolution and plan for 2010? Of course I will be making more video lessons, plus I will be launching a new channel in January. This will still be aimed at those who are learning English, but there will be something extra special added to it. I will reveal more as the time draws nearer. I should be doing some more private video work next year too. One project is already in its early stages. Also hopefully next year I can find a suitable home for Hat For Rent Productions, which will allow me to produce more videos at a steady rate. We will see what happens.

My next project will be to replace lesson 6, which will be done in December. Right now I'm planning my Christmas message video. This should take a couple of weeks to make.

Before I finish today...I would like to say a special hello to all my new followers here at Blogger. I'm amazed that so many people are interested in my ramblings, but I do appreciate your joining me here....very much!

Till next time... Ta-ta for now!

(Misterduncan)

..........................................................................................................................

<<< The Zzzzzzzzzz Factor >>>

2009-11-12T12:55:00.009Z

During the 1970's, here in England there was a TV talent show called 'New Faces' and on this show people were given a chance to show off their skill or talent, be it dancing, singing, or telling jokes. Each performer would do their little act in front of a panel of judges and after, these 'experts' would offer their opinions on the act and give it points. Each week a person would be chosen as a winner to go through to the semi final, and so on. It was always a rule on this show that one of the judges had to be really mean and nasty and deride each contestant one by one. This formula proved very successful and many people tuned in, not only to see the acts, but to hear the 'nasty' remarks which the 'evil' judge would make. This show had a good run in the 70's but was eventually axed, due to new shows coming along. However this show was revived in the 1980's and enjoyed a short run, but people were not interested in 'end of the pier' acts anymore. It all seemd so lame, pointless and exploitive.

Now here we are in 2009 and once again the 'talent' show has become king. Once again we have the helpless and hopeless lining up in the desperate hope of being famous and loved. There can be no doubt that shows such as 'X-Factor', 'Britain's Got talent', 'Pop Idol', and...well the list goes on (depending which country you live in) are nothing new at all. The format is just a copy. Right down to the nasty judge who everyone loves to hate. The most annoying thing about this is the way in which it is being hawked as something new and exciting. In fact the TV talent show can be traced back to the 1950's, with a programme called 'The Gong Show'. Where a person would perform their act for a judge, who, as the shows title hints at, was holding a gong. If the act was terrible or boring, the judge would strike the gong and the contestant would leave the stage. Some of the acts on this show were awful, which added to the 'fun' of the show. Seeing someone humiliated on television is always going to draw a crowd. So you see all of this is nothing new. These tacky talent shows have been around for years and programmes such as X-Factor are nothing more than a combination of all of them.

Of course let us not forget the commercial value of these shows. There is a lot of money to be made from them. First from the commercial spots during each broadcast, then the phone voting system, which the viewers are charged a fee for using, and then the winning act itself, which will be nurtured and exploited by the same people who produce the show. If you still think this is worthwhile entertainment, then think again. It is mass exploitation and for the people behind these types of shows, it is very easy money...A win win situation.

If you are under the age of 25, these shows will seem fresh and new and you will be amazed at how a person could come up with such a wonderful shows. But in truth these are all reheated meals...and not particularly tasty ones at that. Sadly these days, television makers have run out of ideas and the best thing to do is remake the stuff that our dead grandparents would sit down to watch after putting our parents to bed. And while we are on the subject of entertainment, it is worth noting that whatever type of music you listen to...be it Jazz, Pop, Rock, or R'n'B. The money you spend on this music goes into the pockets of only two or three huge companies, who now own the rights to most of the music published on this planet. There are no independent music companies around anymore. Just like the television and movie industry....they are all in the hands of a few people. I tried to watch these talent shows, but from them I sense the feeling of 'this has all been done before'. The X-Factor? .....More like the 'Zzzzzz-Factor'. I feel sleepy just thinking about it.

(Misterduncan) ...........................................................................

<<< 3 !!! >>>

2009-11-01T11:03:00.008Z

October 31st 2009 was a special day for me. This point in time marked yet another milestone in my Online teaching career. I celebrated three years of producing and sharing my video lessons on YouTube. I suppose for many this does not seem like such a big deal, but the fact remains that doing anything over a long period of time takes a great deal of determination and motivation. Fortunately for me these two things have been around me in abundance, although I have had my moments of doubt and disillusionment.

Of course the biggest set-back for me comes from those who choose to criticise and knock what I'm trying to do. There are those in life who wish to improve their own outlook as well as those of others and there are those who only want to take, while offering nothing in return. Then there are those who achieve nothing, blame others for it, then spend the rest of their time pulling down those who are trying to do something with their lives. Fortunately this last group are not the majority, but their existence is still a disruptive one.

From my own point of view I suppose I should be one of those bitter ones. Not everything in my life was easy. I did not get everything I wanted. My early life was not an easy one and I certainly did not come from any sort of privileged background. In my younger years I was not a very confident person. I was shy, gauche, introverted--call it what you like. Everything was a challenge to me. Even walking to school was a daunting task for me, as my tallness and geeky appearance made me a target for bullies and the constant threat of name-calling and intimidation would lay heavily on my conscience, which meant every morning walk to school was accompanied by a feeling of dread and nausea. . The weird thing was that inside I was happy. A strange sort of optimism burned in my heart. I would look up at the sky and watch the clouds drifting by. In my mind, I was one of those clouds, drifting aimlessly, with no purpose or direction, yet their presence still made a difference and I would find myself wondering if mine ever would.

All these moments have long since passed, but that little flame of optimism still burns. The motivation I have now comes from this desire to add a little something to the world, to make a small difference. I will never find a cure for Cancer, or win the Nobel Prize, but at least I'm trying to add something to this increasingly over-cynical world of ours. My real life-changing time came during my stay in China. Many memories of that time still play in my head, again and again. During that time I was finally able to see the human spirit for real. Not in a religious sense, but from a sense of inner optimism. In my line of work I would travel to many small rural villages, visiting community schools, many of which were old and run-down, with battered desks, tattered text books and at the front of each classroom, fixed into the wall, was a large chunk of painted stone which acted as a blackboard. As patronising as this may sound, it is all true and for the young people living there, it was their reality.

When devoid of people, these rooms presented a feeling of gloom and despair, but that soon vanished, once the students walked in. All at once I would be standing in front of a sea of smiling happy faces, the excitement probably intensified by my own presence, as for most of them I would have been the first 'foreigner' they had ever met. (Which was true on most occasions) Now it would be too easy to assume that there would be no way in which anyone sitting in these classrooms would be able to speak English very well at all and I would not blame anyone for thinking this. But let me tell you...this could not have been further from the truth. The thing which struck me on each of these visits was how well and confidently the students spoke English. Bearing in mind that many of these classes consisted of very young children, aged around eight to twelve, living as I said, in very 'poor' and remote areas. When I look around me now, here in the UK, we are constantly being told about the neglected underclass and those who live in 'poverty'...here! We make excuses for all the bad behaviour, we look for reasons for our failure. We blame everyone but ourselves. Great achievements come from determination, motivation and courage. Anyone can criticise and maybe that route is the easiest... I always tell myself, 'Don't be bitter, be better!', It is so easy to attack others, and at the end of the day, all you are really doing is attacking yourself. In the end you lose.

I believe that the Chinese children in those rural schools appreciated everything around them. Their optimism was nurtured by the teachers and in the hearts of each one of them burned that small flame of hope. In China, nature is revered and the passing of each season is celebrated. It is a kind of appreciation of how all things have a purpose. The sun, the moon, The breeze....and lets not forget those clouds, apparently moving aimlessly, but in reality, doing many things to help us survive.

The phrase I use at the start of each lesson...''Are you happy?'' comes from my time in China. It was a question I was frequently asked, normally by a passing student as I walked to my next class, or as I went to collect my bicycle at lunchtime or in the classroom itself. In this increasingly materialistic world, we seem to be looking for happiness in all the wrong places. If you do not find happiness within, you will always be without.

(Misterduncan) ........................................................................................

<<< Merry Christmas?? >>>

2009-10-13T10:02:00.008+01:00

Ho - Ho - Noooooo!

Hi and welcome to my blog. Once again I have gained some new followers, so I would like to welcome you to Misterduncan's blogosphere. October is here and the first signs of Autumn have arrived, with the leaves on the trees turning yellow and the long cold nights once again closing in. Oh and the approach of Christmas has already started too. Each year the preparation for this event seems to begin earlier and earlier. Last year it started around October 20th. This year the shops were already selling the Christmas merchandise by October 5th! For me this is far too early. But I must consider one important factor before I get myself into a tizz. The economic crisis which has continued to grip many parts of the world has seen many businesses fail and flounder during 2009, so I would imagine that the earlier the Christmas shopping begins, then the less of an impact this long-term recession will have on us. This is certainly a testing time for all of us here in the UK. Not least of all because we are constantly hearing conflicting news stories on a daily basis about whether things are getting better or becoming worse. The term 'green shoots' is often used when talking about the recovery. Just like a tiny flower stem when it first emerges from beneath the soil. A green shoot is a sign of new life or a positive change of fortune. Sadly each story of positive change is destroyed the following day by a story of gloom. Things are getting better one day and then the next day, things are getting much worse. This only adds to the confusion and the reluctance to spend any money at all. So maybe businesses and large companies see this Christmas as an opportunity to jump-start the economic recovery. Of course this will mean that many people here will once more get themselves into debt or deeper debt...again!

One thing which has startled me is how we are already being urged to buy products and pay for them over a long period of time. In other words they want us to borrow money. Credit cards are once again being advertised on TV and banks are encouraging us to take out loans and overdrafts. Even my own bank keeps offering me a credit card, almost to the point of harassment. Needless to say I refuse. If I do not have the money, then I do not buy anything. If I cannot afford something, then I save until I can. There is of course a strange irony to all of this. The British government saved many of our banks by giving them billions of pounds, which effectively means that the country has bought them. This money came from the British tax payer. So now we find ourselves in the unique position of owning the very same banks that we bailed out and as if that was not bad enough, now are being urged to borrow our money from them and pay it back...with interest! I have to say that I never thought I would live to see such a topsy turvy financial world as the one we are living with now. So Christmas is coming! Well actually it is over three months away, but shop we must...spend we shall...and everything will be all right. Oh look! A green shoot!

(Misterduncan)

<<< LESSON 51 >>>

2009-09-08T11:54:00.008+01:00

September arrives, almost too soon. This year has really flown by! It really is ironic that the more you do, then the faster time goes by. This has been very true during the past two months. July and August seem like a blur to me. A non-stop routine of writing, filming, editing, and then more writing. The task of remaking my early lessons became an obsession for me. I was pleased the I managed to remake lessons 2, 3, 4, and 5. having done that I decided to return to the continuation from Lesson 50. Once again I made the decision that the later lessons should be more involved and contain much more information and new words. The filming for Lesson 51 took over 6 days to complete, with some shots being created as tests. In fact I probably spend a quarter of the production time making test shots, which will never be seen by my students. These serve a very important role by making sure that when it comes to filming the real scenes, everything will look right and there will be no serious issues with things such as lighting or added effects. There were quite a few special effect scenes in lesson 51. The opening shot of me sitting on the globe and the lesson title sequence, with the hand holding the microphone and my character of Dick Sharpe popping up took a total of five days to make. and they only appear on screen for no more and 35 seconds in total.

This lesson was different in many ways. It is the first one where I have added extra light and colour elements to some of the shots. Each new lesson is a challenge for me, and there is nothing I enjoy more than a nice juicy challenge.

This latest lesson is all about giving your opinion. This may seem like a simple subject, but on closer inspection I realised that I would need to cover more than the aspect of what one person thinks. It would need to also encompass the way we think as groups or nations. I have always been wary of discussing politics in my lessons, but this time I would have to grab the subject and approach it head-on.

I was conscious of not appearing to favour any particular political view, so I decided to use the USA political system as an example of how party politics is set up. The other area I felt conscious of was making a point about far-right ideology. I knew at the time that this may get me into trouble, but I went ahead and mentioned it. However I resisted the temptation to drag myself into discussing particular far-right or far-left politics as individual ways of thinking. In fact I did not mention far-left politics at all. Does that make me a communist? Well of course not. Had I not mentioned far-right thinking, would that have made me a Nazi? Maybe some people will try to find an agenda in this lesson. But I can assure you that there is no bias on my part in this lesson whatsoever. But if anyone wants, I can make a whole lesson on the negative aspects of Socialism and Communism and Leninism and Stalinism.

There is a phrase in English...'Never discuss religion or politics.' This is mainly due to the fact that they represent definitive divisions between us. But to me they are just another area of opinion and thinking. This was the point I was making at the end of the lesson . We may agree to disagree, but at least we are talking.

(Misterduncan)..........................................................................

<<< Another year older... >>>

2009-08-20T17:05:00.006+01:00

We have a wonderful expression in English; 'Another year older-another year wiser'. This assumes that as we become older, then surely we must have acquired more wisdom. Of course to a degree this is true, but I have found that age holds very few rewards and wisdom may in fact be the only compensation, but even that is not absolute.

I recently celebrated my forty fourth birthday, which appears to have been a late milestone for me. Hitting middle age is not an easy point to arrive at. Normally around his fortieth birthday, a man will look back on his life and try to work out what he has actually achieved and done with it and assess his worth. He may experience a second wind of youth and vigour. Perhaps he will purchase a fast car or motorcycle. he may even seek out a much younger partner, with whom to relive his past passions. He may become aware of his fading looks and find himself looking at his remaining time on this earth with dismay and realise that the path ahead is much shorter than the one that lies behind him. Some men are lucky enough not to experience any of this, while others may not hit this stage until much later in life. Of course all of this is viewed from a male perspective. I can not and would not wish to speak on behalf of women, for the process would appear to be somewhat different.

Just before my latest birthday, I found myself looking at some photographs which were taken of me around twenty year ago. They were not special pictures. They were not taken for any particular reason, but now at this present point it all becomes so clear why those pictured were snapped. They now stand as reminders of just how much potential lay right there before me. The face is line less, the eyes are wide with optimism, the hair is flowing, the body is youthful. Yet at that moment I had no idea that all this was mine. It did not register at any point that this was my youth! At that time it was merely another day in my life and becoming middle aged was not even a consideration.

I think I'm a lucky person. From the point that I still do not look my age. I do not behave like a middle aged man and I certainly do not take many things in life very seriously (Besides unfairness) for someone six years from his fiftieth birthday, but I still find it hard to accept that I'm no longer in my prime and there are now many signs appearing to remind me of my slow demise into those 'twilight' years. The little red veins on my ankles, the hair loss and the gradual greying of what remains, not to mention the new hair which has started sprouting in the most odd places on my body! That terrible 'Ohhh!' and 'ahhh!' sound I make whenever I get up from the sofa or take that last step on the staircase. Maybe I'm over reacting and perhaps I'm exaggerating the situation, but I'm quite sure that many men find middle age more of a psychological battle than a physical one. It is funny to think back to when my father was the age I am now. I saw him as old and out of touch. I actually do not remember my dad ever being young. I think this is one reason why parents of a certain age find it hard to connect with their children.

During my time in China, I found myself being influenced greatly by many of my students, who possessed so much enthusiasm, optimism and vitality, in what were unpleasant surroundings that offered little in the way of a stable future. Looking back on that time I know that my life is not over. Youth is a good thing, but it is a mask and once it has faded away, then you are on your own in this world and only perseverance and a firm belief in yourself will pull you through the rest of the journey. I have learned to smile at the sun as it sets everyday and dream about tomorrow and all of its possibilities.

<<< My Korean Visitors >>>

2009-08-03T18:11:00.025+01:00

Saturday 25th July 2009 was a very special day for me, as it was the day I met my online students from South Korea in Stratford Upon Avon. Of course they had not only come to the UK to see me, they also visited many other places too and no doubt had many other interesting experiences as well. It is worth noting that Stratford Upon Avon happens to be the birthplace of the playwright William Shakespeare, so it seemed like an apt place to get together.

It just so happened that the day we met was also the day when a big music festival was being held in the town so the railway station was a little crowded and chaotic due to all of the concertgoers arriving by train, but I managed to spot my little group as they walked from the platform and was successful in capturing their surprise at seeing me, complete with camera and of course Mr Steve, who was there to help with the arrangements. (and supplying the ice cream)

There were seven students in all, a chaperon and Miss Demi, their teacher. I had spoken to Demi a while ago and she mentioned the fact that she was planning to visit the UK and asked if would it be OK for us to meet up. Of course during my time in China I had met hundreds of students and teachers, while visiting city and rural schools around the Inner Mongolia region, but this was the first time that I had met any online students here in the UK. Needless to say, the prospect was quite an exciting one for all concerned.

Our time together was short and at first the children seemed a little disoriented, but over time we chatted and by the end of the afternoon we were all having a good time. Ice cream was eaten, which pleased me more than the kids it seemed! We only filmed a small part of our time as I wanted to find out more about my visitors. However I did film a short introduction from each student and Miss Demi also made a heart-felt and passionate speech to camera, clearly expressing her delight and excitement.

There was one strange moment when one of the students told me that she thought she had caught Swine Flu and was told that most people in the UK now had it, but I assured here that the virus had not become that serious yet, which seemed to calm her down. I was told Miss Demi that one of the boys is a famous child actor in South Korea and that he has appeared in many TV plays there.

In total we spend just over 4 hours together and the time went by very quickly. We managed to take a look at Shakespeare's birthplace before it was time for Demi and her class to depart for their journey back to London.

It was a sad moment when it came to saying goodbye and I felt as if the afternoon had been a pleasant one for all concerned. It was clear to me that Demi enjoyed her role as teacher and it was very nice to meet a person who showed such great dedication to both her many students and her profession.

How was the day for you Misterduncan? For me it was a great experience to meet some of the people who watch my video lessons from so very far away.

Would you do it again? .... Sure why not?

(Misterduncan)............................................................................

<< Busy-Busy-Busy !! >>

2009-07-23T10:07:00.006+01:00

It has been a while since I last wrote here, for which I apologise now. I have been busy remaking the early English lesson videos and I'm still doing it as I write this post. So far I have remade lesson 2 and lesson 3. Right now I'm working on the new lesson 4. After that there will be only 4 more remakes to produce. I was very surprised to see that my blog now has quite a few new followers. So I would like to say hi to all those of you who have decided to keep in touch with my blog.

This weekend I will be going to see some of my online students who are coming all the way to England from South Korea. We will be all meeting up in a beautiful place called Stratford Upon Avon, which also happens to be the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Of course they are not just coming here to see me. They will also be taking in the sights and sounds of London and Oxford. They told me that they are very excited about the trip and I can understand this feeling, as travelling is a really exciting thing to do-especially when it is over a long distance. In English we say that travel broadens the mind and I think this is true.

I will be taking my video equipment with me and their teacher has given me permission to make a short video of our meeting, so look out for that on my YouTube channel. 8-))

Look out for the updates on my Youtube Channel and right here !

Thank you for following my Blog.

(Misterduncan) .....................................................................................

(( The Next Stage For Mr Steve ))

2009-06-28T20:28:00.014+01:00

This has been quite a memorable week in many ways, not least of all because of Mr Steve finally getting his chance to shine on the big stage. All this week he has been appearing in Bilston Operatic Society's production of 'The King And I'. He played the part of the Kralahome, the prime minister and personal assistant to to King. The part was not big but it gave Steve quite a good opportunity to shine with some very dramatic moments, such as his anger at Anna for breaking the king's spirit and the King's death scene, which gave Steve a chance to express his devastation upon the King's demise.

This is a very exciting time for Steve because after 3 years of amateur performing he has made his next step up the ladder by treading the boards at a legitimate theatre (The Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton). Despite Bilston Operatic Society being an amateur company, they are highly respected for their professional approach and polished productions. Last year I was lucky enough to see their production of 'Me and my girl', which completely blew me away, with its overall production quality and the professional performances from the actors. Steve joined the company earlier this year and was lucky enough to be offered a role in their latest production.

There were seven performances over this week, including two matinees (Afternoon Shows). I attended three of the shows and was at the final performance last night. The local newspapers had given the show some good publicity, with Steve's half-naked body being shown in the local newspaper. The reviews were very favourable and one critic wrote that the show 'blurred the line between amateur and professional theatre, which is quite a compliment indeed.

I was able to go along to the after performance party and gush my praise to the various cast members, which I'm sure was quite embarrassing for them, but gush I did! I believe that credit and praise should be given where it is due and in the case of this production, the compliments were certainly valid and well deserved.

I admire anyone who can do this type of art form. The mere thought of going onto a stage and having to remember lots of lines and dialogue fills me with horror. Needless to say I have never acted on stage in my life. I can perform well, if I have the control, but it would be impossible for me to stick to a tight format or lines written by another person. This is probably why I insist on having full control of my English lesson videos. The thing I imagine is the same thing that is created. This control is important to me.

It has been a week of sadness and joy and for Mr Steve it marked another step up the ladder of dreams. Where this will take him next...only fate can tell.

(Misterduncan) ...........................................................

((( 25th June 2009 )))

2009-06-26T17:05:00.009+01:00

I have to write something, just as a record of how I feel right now. How can this affect me so deeply? Watching the TV last night and witnessing the whole shocking event unfold before me on my screen made me feel sad and sick to my stomach. Now it all seems so unreal, as if I'm living some sort of nightmare. It is strange how some people appear so permanent and unmovable. They have an almost invincible quality about them, even in their most desperate hour.

Of course I'm talking about Michael Jackson, who died last night...My goodness!..Even writing that sentence seems unreal. I'm an old person and I grew up in the 70's and 80's, which from my personal perspective was a great time to be alive, despite what the young and cynical trendsetters of today may try and make us believe. During this period music played a big role in my life. It was literally the soundtrack of my early years. When I think back to those days, it is hard to avoid a song or two from that era popping into my head. The songs of Michael Jackson make up a large part of those melodic memory flashes. His music always sounded fresh and vibrant. His music videos were (and still are) some of the most outstanding creations of that time, the sounds and the images went together so well. The album 'Off The Wall' contains some of the greatest dance tracks ever produced and now he has gone, they are sure to return in one guise or another.

It is hard to explain why his death has affected me so much. The feeling is similar to how I felt when I heard about the death of John Lennon in 1980, or Elvis Presley in 1977 and of course more recently, Princess Diana in 1997. These people seemed to have an aura of permanence surrounding them. The realisation that they too can pass away seems totally bewildering and hard to accept. Deep down I think that these events bring us face to face with our own mortality. It is a vivid reminder of the preciousness of life and just how fine that gossamer thread from which we all dangle really is.

Of course the sad part of this is that now he is gone, there will be many more stories and half truth rumours flying around and over time it will become even more difficult to tell fact from fiction. The only ones who will really benefit now are the tabloid newspapers and any human being who came within 10 feet of him for more than a day. Each one taking their pound of flesh from his memory.

For me it would be great to get to the bottom of all the allegations and trials that he had faced in the past, instead of new ones being constantly pulled from thin air. This highlights the vulnerability of those who live in the public eye. I suppose at this point I should say that I do not in any way condone the allegations or the acts that Jackson was supposed to have carried out, but an unbiased open investigation should have been carried out, instead of the media frenzy that happened instead. Already people are speculating about his death, some saying it was suicide and others saying that he took painkillers. It only adds to the feeling of sadness that his fans will be feeling over the next few weeks and months....and he still has many fans, as the recent sell-out of his intended fifty concert run in London clearly demonstrated.

I was hoping that writing this would make me feel better...

It has not.

The grey sky outside my window really reflects my mood so well. However I can take comfort in knowing that the shock will wear off and the sun will once again shine...just as it always does... Just as it always will.

(Misterduncan).......................................................................

The future >>>>>>>>

2009-06-22T10:42:00.006+01:00

Time flies when you are having fun, so the proverb goes and this month has flown by so fast. It is hard to believe that we have just had the longest day of the year. There is something comforting about seeing a light sky at 11pm. But already we are heading down hill towards Winter, albeit slowly.

Now lets talk about the future of my lesson videos.

Lesson 50 has been on my Channel for about 10 days and the reaction to it has been quite enthusiastic, which was quite a relief to me, as I really thought nobody would watch it. I think the format of this lesson is quite different from my previous ones, with the documentary style and straight faced presentation. I was aware of not making the lesson too funny because the story of Samuel Johnson was one that I wanted to convey in a serious way. Even though I did do a couple of silly bits...talking to the statue, writing a letter to Mr Lomax and my exhaustion after climbing the many stairs in the museum.

So what now? Well as I mentioned in previous blog posts, I want to go back to my very early lessons and remake them, so that they look more in line with my later ones. This will take a few weeks to do of course, so there will not be a lesson 51 for a while.

My next production will be Lesson 2, which I will begin filming at the end of this week. At the moment I'm waiting for some new sound equipment to be delivered to me. As you may know, one of the most difficult parts of filming is getting the sound right. So I have gone ahead and ordered some professional equipment which will allow me to do more filming outdoors and generally improve the sound quality of my lessons overall.

So there will be little time for me to rest, although I'm planning to take a short break next week and will be travelling down to the south-west of the UK for some sightseeing and to catch up with some friends I have not seen for a long time. So that should be nice. I will of course be taking my camera. It seems I have become some sort of mythical beast...half man-half video camera.

Last week I took a ride in a Morgan sports car with Mr Steve. It was actually a birthday treat given to him by a friend. (Just a day in the car) I had never ridden in a low seated open topped car before and I must say it was quite an exhilarating experience. Oh yes I did some filming on that day and the result will appear at the start of a forthcoming lesson.

Back to the present and I have just prepared the new Lesson 2 script which I will begin shooting towards the end of this week. (I already metioned that, right?) Just one more piece of news...As of now I'm working on the early stages of a brand new English Channel, which will be appearing on YouTube later this year. Keep watching for more details !!

Ok...must go!

Ta-ta for now 8-))

(Misterduncan) .................................................................

(( LESSON 50 !! ))

2009-06-10T16:02:00.013+01:00

It was a lonely evening for me...Way back in November 2006...when I was sitting in my big apartment in Baotou-China, trying to think of something to do.. Then it came to me....an idea! Why not make a short video English lesson? I had created a Youtube channel a few days before and had only posted a couple of videos on to it. For this video, I could imagine that I was the front of a classroom full of students, talking to them about learning English. It seemed like a good idea...and the perfect way to pass away a quiet evening.

So I went ahead and filmed it. My first attempt was not very good. I felt nervous doing it and certainly looked it. I had done no preparation for it and in the video I talked about some simple ways of improving speaking skills and English in general. I did a quick edit and posted it onto my Youtube Channel.

The following day I checked my YouTube channel. I was surprised to find that my little lesson had received quite a few views. So I went ahead and made another one. This time I talked about ways of saying hello. This video also attracted many viewers and I got the feeling that there was a large potential audience out there searching for material they could use for practicing their spoken English with. I made seven videos in total, before returning to the UK in February 2007.

In April 2007, I made Lesson one of what would slowly become my vast catalogue of English teaching videos. Move on 26 months and here I am, having just completed Lesson 50 !

During this time I have gradually refined and taught myself the methods of video production and editing techniques, as well as my presenting skills. My aim is to constantly improve my abilities and strive for perfection. Of course due to the fact that I do everything by myself, mistakes sometimes happen. But I always try to learn from these errors.

In lesson 50, I visit the City of Lichfield to take a look around its beautiful Cathedral and to visit the birthplace of a man who became famous for creating the first definitive version of a Dictionary of English. He was also a man whose wit and words of wisdom, made him a national celebrity. Which was quite amazing, when you consider that it was around 300 years ago. The man in question is Samuel Johnson. This lesson is a little different from my other ones and the documentary style may not be to everyones liking.

After this lesson has been posted, I will begin to remake some of my earlier lessons, which now look a little amateur in production quality, not to mention my terrible presentation. These new lessons will be in HD and will have subtitles. The lessons I will be remaking are...

Lesson-2.

Lesson-3.

Lesson-4.

Lesson-5.

Lesson-6.

Lesson-7

and Lesson-8.

I will be taking a short holiday soon, here in the UK, at the end of this month, so that should give me some good filming opportunities. Hopefully the weather will be OK.

You may have noticed that I have stopped using the Twitter service. Sadly I do not have enough time to keep updating it, so it has had to go. I must get into the habit of updating this blog more often instead, although I'm still uncertain as to exactly how many people actually read my ramblings.

OK lesson 50 is now officially available 8-))

Ta-ta for now.

(Misterduncan) .........................................................................................

(( 4th June - 20 Years On ))

2009-06-02T14:16:00.016+01:00

So here we are. Twenty years after the Tiananmen Square riots and the subsequent massacre of hundreds of people by the Chinese government. It would appear, if you believe what has been said during the past seven years by Politicians around the world that China has changed its spots. But as we all know a Leopard rarely does, especially a golden one.

For two months the video sharing site YouTube has been blocked by the Chinese government. This Internet censoring has been stepped up with the blocking of most western social network and blog sites, such as Facebook, Myspace and Hotmail.

Very little has actually changed. In fact most of China's changes have only really been benefitial to Western countries, such as the USA and UK, who now import a large percentage of their goods from this Communist state. The very fact that we are living off the spoils of what can only be described as a dictatorship, beggars belief.

From the farce of the handing over of the 2008 Olympic games, right up to the actual games itself, we have been lied to and blatantly cheated by the leaders of not only China, but of our own nations too. All which has passed during the last seven years was a carefully planned and negotiated game of 'Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'. Guaranteeing mutual gains on both sides. Sadly whereas we in the west can buy a TV or DVD player for amazingly low prices, the people who are making these trinkets of Capitalist development are living in poor circumstances and being paid a pittance. The only Chinese people who are really benefiting from the past growth are those in Government positions or those who are a member of that big exclusive club otherwise known as the Communist Party.

Since 2008, China has been somewhat forgotten. Only being brought into the public domain when the USA needs China to support the rally against the global recession or to protest against the recent sabre rattling of North Korea.

Lets not mince our words. China is the lap-dog of the Western world. It jumps through hoops for the Western super-powers. Having said that, the USA and the UK also do their share of jumping and begging too. Allowing government agents from China to assault members of the public here in the UK during the Olympic Torch relay must have been one of the most horrific sights ever seen on our streets, but it was allowed to happen, with no repercussions. I very much doubt that British police would be able to carry out such assaults on the streets of Beijing. Of course such assaults do happen there, but by their own officials be-it 1989 or 2009.

Between 2003 and 2007 I lived in China and during that time I spoke to many people there who feel that they have little or no voice. They carry within them, great fear and frustration and there is no place for them to vent these feelings. Newspapers are owned and censored by the government. Television is state owned and its news consists of nothing more than government propaganda. The views of the Chinese people are never really heard. Those who are allowed to speak are usually wealthy or have connections with the Communist party.

I even found myself the victim of the Chinese government. My phone and Internet was monitored. I was told on a number of occasions that it was not safe to live in China for too long. I broke the golden rule and stayed in Baotou for four years, which only raised suspicion among the local hierarchy. I was assaulted and robbed with a knife and was told not to tell anyone about it, my passport was taken from me during my four years working there. The facade of Chinese life is that of a puritanical people, who refrain from all temptation. Even now Western people are painted as diseased and unclean. A very dangerous way of thinking when we consider the amount of Chinese hotels offering room sex and KTV bars and lounges with prostitutes on hand to offer their services. Sexually transmitted diseases such as Syphilis and AIDS are rife, due to the ignorant belief that only Western people catch them, so finding a partner there holds many risks. Let this be a warning to any person thinking of going to China for work. If you are unfortunate enough to catch a sexually transmitted disease, you will be arrested and thrown out of the country! It would be safe to say that what appears on the surface is definitely not what lies beneath.

During the opening of a disco bar in Baotou I spoke to some people who worked for the local government and one of them quite openly offered to find me a girl to 'use' for the night. They seemed very annoyed when I refused the offer and even asked what was wrong with me. Marriage arrangements in China are often not happy ones. The man is still boss there and the woman is seen as a pea-pod for giving the man the prized son he needs so as to carry on the family and keep face. The single child policy can be broken, if you are from a minority group or if you have enough money to bribe some officials, or even better be a Communist party member.

All rules in China can be broken-at the right price.

So as we commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4th, what has changed in China? The answer is 'very little'. Unless you are a member of the Communist elite or the owner of a large company, which in many cases is one and the same thing. I'm not expecting much media coverage here about the anniversary. After all, Western media is a fickle beast and only talks openly about issues when it suits them or when they are sufficiently diverting. Ask someone at the BBC about the blocking of YouTube in China and they would probably reply 'So what !'. This whole situation makes me sad and sick, not just because of the neglect and blatant disregard, but because I know that it is going on right now, as I sit here typing this.

(Misterduncan) ......................................................................

((( Lesson 49 )))

2009-05-20T12:29:00.006+01:00

So after a 7 week gap, I have uploaded my latest English lesson. This is the 49th in my series of English videos and it is slightly different from all the rest. The main difference being its length. It runs to 33 minutes, which is quite unusual for a Youtube video, never mind one which has been made in High Definition. This lesson took me three weeks to make, in which time I wrote the script, set up the 32 scenes that would make up the lesson, and many re shoots of stuff I was unhappy with. This is also the first lesson where I have heavily used Green-Screen Chroma key effects. I had used it briefly in the 'Death' lesson, but at that time I had no real green backdrop and my lighting was pretty bad to say the least.

During May I invested in a set of professional studio lamps and a huge studio green screen backdrop. This now allows me to make 'composite' shots. This means that I can now layer many different clips of video over each other to produce a totally unique moving image. In fact the method is the same as they use in many big budget movies these days. So part of that three weeks production was taken up with getting used to using the new studio set up.

I also bought some new video editing software, which takes the number of editing tools to five. This allows me to swap and change between different features and hopefully add some interesting moments to the lesson. Music has always been an important part of my video making and now I have many more options for producing my own music. The main 'food' theme was written and produced by myself and this was the first time is had ever made a full length tune for a lesson. Filming took many days and editing took around six days to complete.

The hardest part of making these videos is the adding of screen captions and subtitles. For lesson 49, it took two days to create just the subtitles! Of course this is a big task and there was bound to be a mistake or two. I was rather annoyed to find a spelling mistake had made it to the final edit. The word 'dessert' was spelt as 'desert', which has a completely different meaning to the word I wanted to spell. I felt quite sick in my stomach after realising it...after all I'm a perfectionist and I hate making mistakes....very much!

This is one of the dangers of running words through a spellchecker. Normally I do all checking by hand...but because the subtitles and captions text came to over 2000 words, I decided to run them through the spell check. Of course the misspelled 'desert' is a real word, so the spell check ignored it.

Of course I realised this mistake after uploading the lesson to Youtube, which had taken 14 hours! So that error will be there to stay. This is a good lesson for me...Do not rely too much on time-saving programmes, as they can bring you more problems later.

I will begin preparing lesson 50 soon, and I have something special planned for that one. I will be off on my travels for the next instalment. (Not abroad sadly!)

Hope you enjoy the lesson....

(Misterduncan)

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(( Evil Dictator Of the Week !! ))

2009-04-17T11:19:00.015+01:00

Have you noticed how western governments and the media get all excited and panicky over certain countries and their leaders? What is more, these 'bad' people and nations tend to vary from one month to another. For example, during 2007 it was Myanmar (Burma) and Iran who were the baddies of planet earth, threatening the very essence of human freedom and a threat to 'world peace'. During this same time Britain and the USA were up to their necks in two ill conceived wars (or should that be invasions?). We were being told how bad and evil these countries are and how the human rights of their people were constantly being abused and taken away.

Fast forward to early 2008 and suddenly Myanmar had disappeared from the baddie list. The new naughty country to enter the spotlight was Britain's old friend Zimbabwe. Suddenly we were being told how bad and evil the rulers of this country are and how the people are suffering at the hands of a cruel man. But what about Myanmar? Had all the problems there been sorted and had democracy returned to that land?...erm...No! Nothing has changed and to this day, the situation there is the same. It is just not considered newsworthy anymore.

Also at the start of 2008 there were reports of unrest in China, especially in Tibet, where Chinese rule has been around for decades, but the Western media suddenly began reporting on the 'troubles' there in great detail, as if all of this had just begun. Of course this situation has been around for many years, but just like Myanmar, it is not newsworthy until it becomes topical. So 2008 was the Olympic year for China, let's all focus on their problems.

The only slight problem with this was that Western media reporters could not get into the hot-spots of Tibet, so instead they decided to use footage from other areas of trouble. However the big problem was that these places were not in Tibet (They were in Nepal). But when has the truth ever stopped the media from reporting lies? So they ran video footage of the riots in Nepal, but did not mention that they were not in Tibet. Thus giving the illusion of mass rioting in the Chinese region. To make matters worse, the foreign press was also being targeted in Beijing, where Western journalists had been promised complete freedom to report where they wanted. It soon became apparent that this was not the case, with some journalists being detained and their camera equipment being confiscated.

Also during the start of 2008, the Olympic torch was doing its tour, which would take it through many Western countries. This created a real dilemma for everyone. How could China carry out this huge PR exercise, while keeping the western media on its side? What it all came down to was good old fashioned bribery! But this did not involve money, at least not directly. Countries who were going to be in Beijing reporting on the 2008 Games would have to be treated well, if they are going to say nice things about the big birds-nest and water-cube. Also the foreign media became aware that they would have to keep China happy, if they are going to be allowed to sit in the stadium reporting on the event. After all, the broadcast rights and advertising revenue from this event was going to run into millions of Pounds/Dollars. So foreign TV networks stood to make a big pile of money from this 'historic' event.

So as the Olympic torch trotted its way around the world, the western media tried its best to sit on the fence and not pass too much judgment on the torch relays. Although there were moments of negative commentator opinion, especially during the torch relay in London and San Fransisco. First there were the scuffles between the Chinese government heavies, who were seen tackling British and Chinese subjects to the ground, on the streets of London. A sight that has never been seen before and one that caused astonishment to both the commentators and the general media. I actually watched the live feed during the San Fransisco stage and the (BBC) commentator was literally crying with hysterical laughter at the sight of the torch procession going along empty back streets, which was being lead by a huge van, packed with Chinese news camera personnel, all taking very tight close-up pictures, which would be spoon fed later on a plate to the people of China by the government owned Chinese TV station-CCTV. It was one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed and the commentator clearly agreed, while choking through his veil of laughter tears!

So fast forward to August 2008. Suddenly all talk of the chaotic farce of the torch relay had faded and the lucky chosen few broadcasting companies (Including the BBC) were sitting in the Birds-nest stadium. Now let us bear in mind for a moment the sad story of SKY television news, which had to sit in the car park of the stadium and give a rather pathetic description of what they could see...from the car park. SKY television is owned by an Australian megalomaniac called Rupert Murdoch, who happens to own many newspapers and movie studios around the world, including 20th Century Fox. (Yes really!) He is not very well liked by the Chinese, in fact he is quite despised. So SKY television news (SKY is owned by Murdoch) was allowed to be at the opening ceremony of the games, but had to suffer the embarrassment of doing all their live feeds from the car park. While the BBC had their own box and broadcast suite in which to comfortably watch and comment on the stunning opening ceremony, complete with digitally enhanced fireworks and the cute little girl miming to a nauseating sugar-coated song. She was used as a replacement for the original girl, who was considered too ugly to be shown to the fashion conscious western media.

So the Olympic games started and all the bad media coverage was totally forgotten about. 'What a great and historic games...This will put China well up there with all the great nations of the worlds....blah blah blah'. To put it bluntly The west kissed-ass big time!

Skip forward to late 2008. The Olympic games are over and China once again becomes a fading ember in the minds of the western media. The millions have been made, the Chinese leaders pat themselves on the back for a job almost well done and the media companies sit and count their big piles of cash!

Skip forward to the start of 2009. So who is on our naughty list now? Well Zimbabwe makes a return to the list after a short absence, with their elections and reports of intimidation by that 'terrible' man Robert Mugabe. Of course there is another part to this story. While we are criticising countries like Zimbabwe, why are we ignoring all the other tin-pot regimes that exist in Africa? That is easy to answer and it all comes down to our old friend money! Africa is a continent that sits on lots of valuable minerals, including oil. Countries such as Britain and the USA have a vested interest in these commodities and make a very nice fortune setting up companies there, while allowing the individual government leaders to cream a little off for themselves, which is a nice way of saying they are bribed!

It is also worth noting that another close friend of these fat cat African countries is China. They exchange trade, including oil and weapons. China export weapons to Africa and one of their clients is...Zimbabwe! Now for some reason this does not make the headlines on any Western media outlet. However China itself regularly talks openly about their 'special' relationship with African states such as Nigeria, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Mmmm...That is interesting...one country having a special relationship with another for mutual benefit...Does that sound familiar? Next time I hear Mr Brown or Mr Obama talking about their special relationship with each other, I shall think of all the other mutually handshaking nations that choose to be best buddies and wonder to myself- 'What are they getting from this?'.

So here we are in April 2009, the world economy has collapsed, trillions of Dollars are being thrown into big holes and the tax payers of the USA and Britain and their children and their children's children will be picking up the bill. But who is the bad country this month? Who is the nasty regime with their finger on the button of oblivion? It is not Zimbabwe, as we have forgotten all about that now. No...the bad guy this month is ding!!...North Korea? Yes this small isolated country is the new big threat to the future of the human race. After launching a rocket that was either a satellite or a nuclear missile test, all the big nations got their knickers in a twist, which basically means the USA. But why was this so? The launch had been well publicised as far back as a month ago. Why all the sudden shock and panic? Why the outrage and fake surprise? The fact is we need to be afraid of someone and it happens that the spinning bottle has stopped at North Korea. After all it is a great opportunity to get everyone panicking, especially as there is not much else to be afraid of at the moment. Even Al Queda has virtually vanished from the radar. (Although it seems Pakistan is now in the running as the new hider of terrorist extremists and baddies) It seems that sand covered plateaus and rocky caves do not make for good journalistic reporting. Hostages being taken in hotels and street battles always get our attention and also the attention of the Western governments and media. So as it stands the 'evil' country list (according to the media) looks a little like this...

1-North Korea

2-Pakistan

3-Iran

4-eeerrmmm!

5- Well ....

6- Mmmmm!

7- ........

So that is all.....Of course there are many small countries feathering their nests and allowing their populations to fall deeper into poverty and famine as I type this. But many big (Powerful) Countries are also benefiting from these tin-pot rulers, so it is best that we do not discuss them too openly. That is of course until they serve no purpose to us, or they disobey our high command, in which case we will make sure they go straight to the top of the evil dictator of the week list!

It is also worth noting that Youtube is still being blocked in China...after 19 days! The media in both the UK and USA seem to have let this pass by without any comment at all. However just two days ago the BBC ran a news story telling us all about the benevolent Chinese government allowing Chinese 'peasants' the chance to sit in the now useless and empty Beijing Birds-nest stadium.

It's a funny old world, don't you think?

(Misterduncan) ......................................................................