Life's like that!

August 30, 2004

Word of the Day: Nix

Main Entry: 1nix
Pronunciation: 'niks
Function: noun
Etymology: German nichts nothing: NOTHING

Main Entry: 2nix
Function: transitive verb
: VETO, REJECT

Main Entry: 3nix
Function: adverb
: NO -- used to express disagreement or the withholding of permission; often used with on

Main Entry: 4nix
Function: noun
Etymology: German, from Old High German nihhus; akin to Old English nicor water monster and perhaps to Greek nizein to wash
: a water sprite of Germanic folklore

Word of the Day

One entry found for curmudgeon.
Main Entry: cur·mud·geon
Pronunciation: (")k&r-'m&-j&n
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown1 archaic : MISER2 : a crusty, ill-tempered, and usually old man- cur·mud·geon·li·ness /-lE-n&s/ noun- cur·mud·geon·ly /-lE/ adjective

August 24, 2004

Phillida and Corydon

IN the merrie moneth of Maye,
In a morne by break of daye,
With a troope of damselles playing
Forthe 'I yode' forsooth a maying;

When anon by a wood side,
Where that Maye was in his pride,
I espied all alone
Phillida and Corydon.

Much adoe there was, God wot:
He wold love, and she wold not.
She sayde, "Never man was trewe;"
He sayes, "None was false to you."

He sayde, hee had lovde her longe;
She sayes, love should have no wronge.
Corydon wold kisse her then;
She sayes, "Maydes must kisse no men,

"Tyll they doe for good and all."
When she made the shepperde call
All the heavens to wytnes truthe,
Never loved a truer youthe.

Then with manie a prettie othe,
Yea and nay, and faithe and trothe,
Suche as seelie shepperdes use
When they will not love abuse,

Love, that had bene long deluded,
Was with kisses sweete concluded;
And Phillida with garlands gaye
Was made the lady of the Maye.

Source: http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/boeb/boeb07.htm

August 20, 2004

The Crazy Traffic Light

The Crazy Traffic Light

There’s a crazy traffic light
On a corner in our town
It has the normal colors
You know, yellow means slow down
And green means go
And red means stop
It’s all the other colors
That’ll make your mouth drop

Chorus:

When you see a pink light
It means hop like a bunny
When the light is purple
Make a face that’s funny
When the light turns orange
You should bark like a dog
When the brown light shines
You can oink like a hog

When the white light’s bright
You should give a loud roar
When the light turns blue
Fall asleep and snore

One day the workers came
To fix that crazy light
They tried to make it like
All the other traffic lights
They spend a lit of money
Tearing out its guts
They tried to guarantee
Traffic wouldn’t go nuts
They put in brand new wires
They worked all day and night
They thought when they were finished
That they changed that traffic light
But when they switched it on
After spending all that dough
It flashed those crazy colors
That the kids all know

Chorus:

When you see a pink light
It means hop like a bunny
When the light is purple
Make a face that’s funny
When the light turns orange
You should bark like a dog
When the brown light shines
You can oink like a hog

When the white light’s bright
You should give a loud roar
When the light turns blue
Fall asleep and snore

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Phrase of the Day

"Throw the baby out with the bath water, To." - To reform or alter something so radically or indiscriminately that the essentials are lost.

August 17, 2004

Star Spangled Banner - USA National Anthem
Approved in 1931
Words by FRANCIS SCOTT KEY (1779-1843)
Composed by John Stafford Smith

During the night of September 13, 1814, the British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry in the harbor at Baltimore, Maryland. Francis Scott Key, a 34-year old lawyer-poet, watched the attack from a deck of a British prisoner-exchange ship. He had gone to seek the release of a friend but they were refused permission to go ashore until after the attack had been made. As the battle ceased on the following morning, Key turned his telescope to the fort and saw the American flag was still waving. The sight so inspired him that he pulled a letter from his pocket and began to write the poem which eventually was adopted as the national anthem of the United States - "The Star Spangled Banner."

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wiped out their foul footstep's pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Source: http://www.usembassy.de/usa/government-anthem.htm

Australian National Anthem

Australian National Anthem
"Advance Australia Fair"
words and music composed byPeter Dodds McCormick
proclaimed Australia's National Anthem by the Governor - General on 19th April 1984

Australians all let us rejoice
For we are young and free
We've golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea:
Our land abounds in nature's gifts
Of beauty rich and rare,
In history's page let every stage
Advance Australia fair,
In joyful strains then let us sing
Advance Australia fair.

Beneath our radiant Southern Cross,
We'll toil with hearts and hands,
To make this Commonwealth of ours
Renowned of all the lands,
For those who've come across the seas
We've boundless plains to share,
With courage let us all combine
To advance Australia fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia fair.

Source: http://www.imagesaustralia.com/australiannationalanthem.htm

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August 13, 2004

Science Explorer activities for Kids!
http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/

That Was The Week That Was (TW3)

I watched a program on ABC News tv station's Primetime (http://abcnews.go.com/Sections/Primetime/) last night, and one of the segments was about this station's decision to reintroduce a program called "That was the week that was" during the morning show. It will be performed by a lady who will wear a black dress and sing political satire songs. This idea is taken from the BBC show from 1962-1963.

http://pages.prodigy.net/achimes/tw3.htm

August 11, 2004

Word of the Day

Main Entry: as·tute
Pronunciation: &-'stüt, a-, -'styüt
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin astutus, from astus craft
: having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity astute observer> <astute remarks>; also : CRAFTY, WILY
synonym see SHREWD
- as·tute·ly adverb
- as·tute·ness noun

August 09, 2004

Santa Fe, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas

Santa Fe, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas

My husband and I went to Santa Fe and El Paso to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. We drove for about 6 hours north to Santa Fe(http://www.santafe.org/). Santa Fe is such as romantic place! There is a good mixture of native American, hispanic, and anglo culture. The magnificent mountains and beautiful adobe houses (http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-adobe.htm) make the region so unique! We stayed a night in Hotel 6 (http://www.motel6.com/), a relatively inexpensive ($65) motel. Krispy Kreme (http://www.krispykreme.com/) donuts seem to be very popular here because you can get them in many local gas stations!

Next, we drove for about 6 hours south to El Paso(http://www.ci.el-paso.tx.us/), which is just a stone's throw away from Mexico. This place is rich with hispanic culture and there's 3 Baskin Robbins ice cream shops (http://www.baskinrobbins.com/index.shtml)! We stayed in Travelodge (http://www.travelodge.com/Travelodge/control/home), another budget motel for $45/night. We visited the Islamic Center of El Paso (http://www.icoep.com/) and bought some groceries at the local islamic store.

We drove for about 6 hours east to Lubbock, and I was so happy to be home to see my guinea pig, who was not pleased with being locked up in his cage for 3 days!

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August 04, 2004

Teens web sites

http://www.smartgirl.org/
http://www.grouchy.com/angst/
http://www.teencybercenter.org/

Popular Teen Magazines with Online Versions
http://www.girlslife.com/
http://www.teenmag.com/
http://www.seventeen.com/
http://www.teenreads.com/clubs/club-about.asp