In Britain we have a tradition of pigging out during Christmas and then making plans to exercise off the extra pounds during the new year. The diet and fitness industry fills that need with new fitness videos which are usually released on Boxing Day and tend to feature soap or reality show stars.

Here’s a selection of fitness DVDs which will be released next week in the UK.

1. Natalie Cassidy’s Then And Now Workout

“Actress Natalie Cassidy stars in her own exercise title, demonstrating how she lost two and a half stone.”

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2. Shilpa’s Yoga

“Bollywood superstar [and Celebrity Big Brother star] Shilpa Shetty presents this guide to the yoga routines that keep her curvaceous, calm and focused.”

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Here are some of my favourite TV show intros (in no particular order).

1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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These words do not have direct equivalents in English. Some of them would definitely be useful for us English-speakers, what do you think?

1. Waldeinsamkeit (German): the feeling of being alone in the woods

2. Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time

3. Taarradhin (Arabic): a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise - everyone wins)

4. Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery

5. Esprit de l’escalier (French): a witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs…

6. Meraki (Greek): doing something with soul, creativity, or love

7. Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways’, referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language:

8. Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.

9. Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favour, but you can also use up your gianxi by asking for a favour to be repaid.

10. Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions

11. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbour�s house until there is nothing left

12. Radioukacz (Polish): a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain

13. Selathirupavar (Tamil): a word used to define a certain type of absence without official leave in face of duty

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Of course, I’m just relying on the accuracy of online resources for this information, if you speak any of these languages please let me know if there are any errors or inaccuracies above.

Update: Sources were Times Online and NPR

We all remember our teenage years, our first loves, the angst, the wish to change the world for the better. Though we might have left our teenage years a long time ago we can relive those times through the miracle of television. Here’s a selection of TV shows with teen protagonists.

1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer

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Some great shows get cancelled due to low ratings, while some mediocre ones continue on for years. Here are some excellent shows which were made to end prematurely. Thank goodness for DVD box sets. (more…)

Here are some of my favourite writing instructional books, in no particular order.

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Some of the most interesting characters are the ones who are never on stage or only partially-seen. Here are some of my faves. (more…)

Detectives don’t always work in law enforcement, though most do. Here are some of my favourite TV sleuths. (more…)

Artwork by Gary Ham

One body, two lives. Sometimes by choice or design, sometimes not.

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It’s my mother’s birthday on Saturday, so I thought that I’d do a Thursday 13 in her honour, as I did for my dad a few months ago. Here are 13 things about her.

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