Live and Learn English with Jean Lee

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films or listening to pop music? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the he most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   # 28. NEXUS: A Brief History of Information Networks from The Stone Age to AI (authored by Yuval Noah Harari) This book explains and moves beyond the usual apocalyptic fears that we have surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) to highlight a quieter yet potentially more alarming risk in the near future. Rather than focusing on job loss or machine rebellion, the author suggests that the real danger lies in AI’s capacity to shape the narratives we create—stories that form the backbone of human society. For the first time, it is not humans but AI that increasingly decides which stories we encounter, pass on, and are unnoticeably made to b...

Two Persons in Staggered Love by Jean J. Lee He says “passion” She says “illusion”   He says “courage” She says “reckless boldness”   He says “positively free” She says “irresponsible spree”   He says “listening to the inner voice” She says “deceiving oneself”   He says “young at heart” She says “immature”   He says “you are impossibly stagnant” She says “I am fully ripe”   He says “I give up on you” She says “I willingly let go of you”  

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films or listening to pop music? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the he most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   # 27. Sous le Sable (“Under the Sand”, film in 2000) The French film Sous le Sable (Under the Sand, 2000) tells the story of a woman confronting loss, grief, and the complicated nature of denial after her husband suddenly vanishes during a vacation. Struggling to cope, she carries on with her daily life as though he were still alive, slipping into a deep state of denial and emotional unrest. Through her experience of emotional turmoil, the film examines how love and memory become intertwined in the face of profound loss, offering a thoughtful exploration of mourning and the lingering presence of a loved one within the mind.   “...

LIVE, LEARN, & LOVE Do you take delight in watching films or listening to pop music? For English learners, movies, songs, and books are one of the he most wonderful sources to explore the language! You can indulge in your favorite pastime and still learn some expressions, words of wisdom, and oftentimes good lessons while you’re at it.   #26. The Harry Styles & Murakami Haruki Interview (from Runner’s World, Spring issue 2026) Two globally acclaimed figures—one a pop superstar, the other a writer and fellow marathon runner—came together for a thoughtful conversation about the quiet elegance of running and the ways it nurtures creativity. Since both are runners/ marathoners, their talk centers around the relationship between running and their respective fields of creation.   “(Murakami Haruki) One of the important things for human beings is to embrace the contradictions. When I’m writing, I always feel I have a contradiction and that’s why I want to express ...

BUZZ WORDS from last week (March 14-20, 2026) Do you work on vocabulary by textbooks? Following the world news updates makes one good way for you to improve vocabulary.   1.    strait : (noun) a narrow channel joining two larger bodies of water   The ongoing military conflict with Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz to most of its usual traffic, including tankers that carry about 20 percent of the world’s oil from the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The U.S. President Trump has urged European countries, South Korea, and China to send warships to protect the narrow waterway from Iranian attacks, but so far foreign nations have declined to do so.   2.    abysmal : (adjective) exceptionally bad or displeasing           A remake of the film War of the Worlds was widely panned as    abysmal .   3.    aristocrat : (noun) a member of the nobility      ...

Every answer is a three-syllable word, name, or phrase in which every syllable starts with "B." Ex. Possible result of an infested mattress    -->   B ED B UG B ITE   1. Largeish insect with a stinger   2. Implement for a slugger   3. Luxurious soak in a tub   4. Some soft-colored eyes, informally   5. Period of very high birthrates   6. Religious part of the country, informally   7. Large, lovable oaf   8. Singer/rapper with the 1988 #1 hit "My Prerogative" (once married to Whitney Houston)   9. Companion of Yogi in Hanna-Barbera cartoons   10. Including every single detail, as an account of an argument   11. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera   Answer Keys      1.   B um b le b ee     2.   B ase b all b at     3.   B u bb le b ath     4.   B a b y b lue       5.   ...