The excellent, rather creepy cartoon I watched the other day was CORALINE. It's the dark fairytale of a blue-haired girl who wishes her parents weren't so self-preoccupied with themselves and cared more for her and her needs. With this is mind, she openly agrees to spend some time with the identical parents (with buttons instead of eyes) that she found through a small door in the wall... until... but I will let you discover her adventures, the witty cat and the dancing mice, all spiced up with some quote from Hamlet. If all ends well, that's for you to decide!
We all copy, whether that's during exams, or simply in our everyday life. We copy the way divas dress, act, eat or read (reading is good, so that doesn't count as a flaw). We copy ideas, and that's ok as long as we can at least add something of our own. We copy blogs and postings, hoping they will be as interesting to read and access as the original ones. Now, one question arises. Are we being less creative because of the internet and the so many sources available for every possible creative thought or this happened before but not at such a massive scale? I guess we just have to think for ourselves and the rest will follow! We are too consumed with checking if we are trendy and people will like what we do, say or write and these turn us into copy cats! Now, let me copy and paste this cute pic I found on the net, and then I'll go on reading one of Madonna's favorite books :)
Today I have read an interesting article about the so called theory of "broken windows". This theory states that ignoring little problems around us - litter, graffiti, shattered glass - leads to an irreversible decline in the community. In other words, if we ignore dirt, we will end up being suffocated by it. If we do not fix a broken window, chances are others will be broken as well. There are even studies and books to prove that the theory, dated back in 1982, is completely true. These petty crimes give birth to a negative feedback; e.g. if we see litter in an area, chances are we will be prone to throwing rubbish everywhere as well. Does this theory apply to you? Before saying no, try to be true to yourself! Is there anything we can do to change this pattern of behaviour? Definitely! The answer is being responsible and caring for what lies beyond our limited universe.
I am definitely a newbie in squash, but I love the game! It tests attention, strength and stamina, while also being fun to play. Squash is as old as the 16th century, originating in France. The squash racquet is smaller than the tennis one, and there are 5 types of balls, depending on the speed at which you want to play, thus giving you the possibility to play "differently" each time. There are two scoring systems, the English and the American one, but what's more important is that it is an excellent cardiovascular workout. In one hour it burns between 600 and 1000 calories and that is more than most other sports. Well, that just leads me to renewing my subscription :)
The first citation we have for the word SCRUMPTIOUS is said by Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary to be from 1830.
The Oxford English Dictionary points to 1836 and says it’s an American invention.
One of the more succinct definitions of scrumptious is “delicious” and most dictionaries say scrumptious usually refers to food.
While both Merriam Webster and The American Heritage Dictionary feel that scrumptious may have evolved from sumptuous, the OED has another theory.
Evidently there was an earlier word scrumptious called by the OED “dialectal” and it meant almost the opposite of “delicious.”
Our problem here is that since the OED considered this word non-standard English and part of a dialect, they didn’t actually include the earlier scrumptious as an entry. Instead they just offhandedly referred to it in the etymology of our word scrumptious.
That earlier scrumptious was a word applied to people not food, and it didn’t mean “attractive,” but “unattractive”—in fact “stingy” and “hard to please.”
Scrumptious is thought to be related to the word scrimp. So what happened?
The speculation is that the word scrumptious first referred to people who kept good things for themselves, and then scrumptious was transferred to the good things those people were hording.
Whatever they were hording must have been attractive so something that was scrumptious became something particularly attractive.
I looked at several trending tools to see if the use of the word scrumptious was on the rise or in decline. The data is mixed with Google trends on a gentle climb and Facebook lexicon showing a mild falling off.
The thing that did strike me was that although everyone seems to agree that this word originated in the United States, it is now more frequently used in England, Ireland, and Australia than it is in the US.
Plus, of all places there seem to be twice as many scrumptious users in Singapore that the US.
PARLEZ-MOI DE LA PLUIE I heard about this movie last October, and I finally had the time to see it. It was, like all French movies, very French :), with situations that make you think you can make a film about anything, with dialogues that may apparently lead to nowhere, while in the end to grasp the essential core of a movie with appreciated actors such as Jean - Pierre Bacri and Agnes Jaoui, not to mention the funny Jamel Debbouze (if the names do not ring a bell, it's because you do not watch French movies): it's a slice-of-life movie. It does not pretend to be anything else than it is, there's no car set on fire or people shot on rooftops (just like in Hollywood movies), it is a normal film about normal people. So, tell me about the rain...
SCRIPT: Hello! I'm Alix and I will be your guide in learning English! Let's start with a tongue twister. Repeat after me: She sells seashells by the sea shore.
Ally is a little girl who loves to read. Not any book, just the ones which will soon become her favorite, books that, page by page, will transform little Ally in little Dora - David Copperfield’s first love - in Maitreyi – we all know her – in the passionate Anais Nin of her own diaries or, in the beautiful Venetian Villanelle from the charming book “The Passion”. Ally doesn’t like characters allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by fatality and faith, characters that do not fight till the end, but Ally, while a teenager, was in love with Holden Caulfield (it’s a secret, don’t tell her I told you that). Ally is not ashamed to admit she had read both Coelho and Mircea Cartarescu. For Ally, books become her friends. But Ally is not alone, Ally loves and is loved in return. Ally doesn’t have a favorite book, Ally has an array of favorite books, but what she appreciates the most are the books written by Jeanette Winterson. She read them all, some even several times, and that’s because the way this British writer touches the cords of her soul cannot be equaled by any other writer. “The Passion” started with a few oranges, but “Oranges are not the Only Fruit” and passing by “Art and Lies” Ally arrived at “The World and Other Places” where she found out “Written on the Body” by “The Stone Gods” that “Boating (is) for Beginners”. Ally wants. Ally only wants time. Time for the yet unread pages.
Sir Ken Robinson talks about talent, pursuing one's dreams and doing what we are most talented at. There's also another post with one of his TED sessions on the blog. Click here to watch the newer one. Here are some relevant quotes from the session:
"Finding your passion does change everything."
"The problem for humans is often not that we aim too high and fail, it's that we aim too low and succeed."
If you are/were a girl, who would you choose as your best friend? Tricky question, but everything ends fine in one of the most down-to-earth, truthful movies, with a character that pretty much resembles one of my own ;) In Girl's Best Friend, Janeane Garofalo plays Mary, a music critic who has a hard time settling down with her boyfriend. The movie has a happy ending - plus a cute dog, Pinky - but what's in between is for you to discover. Trailer here.
Two of my all time favorite bands area teaming up again. YeeeeYYY!!! Snow Patrol is supporting once again U2 in their 360* grand tour this summer, mainly in Milan and Gothenburg. Since U2's tour is supposed to continue in Europe in 2010 as well, maybe they will come "in a town" near me :))
Do you know the answer to these questions: ~ What's the Latin name for the snowdrop? ~ Which country celebrates snowdrops in a festival? ~ Which writer for children wrote a story called "The Snowdrop"?
Click here if you want to read a short version of it, or click on comments if you want to know the answer.
