Word of the Day
The word of the day is renege
This is a quote from George's site: "Why, oh why, can we no longer break into impromptu songs? Songs that everyone miraculously knows the dance moves and lyrics." I must say that I do break into impromptu songs and make up my own dance moves. Ask Rich about the "Blueberry Song and Dance", which struck both of us as a really good song and dance and which neither of us can remember anything about. It was as if I were suddenly overcome by the spirit of the Blueberry and had to sing and dance for my life. You ever hear the song "Tribute" by Tenacious D? It was something like that. "It just so happened to be, the Best song in the world, it was the Best song in the wooorld". In addition, Mike and I used to suddenly sing and dance (mostly sing) out of the blue (like our "By the Sea" ditty) but the times we did this we were looked at as if we were, for lack of a better word, crazy. So maybe we were, (i recall a certain pizza hut affair) but being young and impressionable we stopped that habit. Though I hear from Mike that he's trying to regain his footing once again, with his friends. But he's at the rebellious stage at the moment. Me? I meekly return to the impositions of society, and do it, only in the comfort of my own home. And while you blame the Republicans, I blame the Democrats and liberals, who befriend the celebrities, who seem to define what society accepts or cuts to pieces, and so while sex and violence are loved by all, dancing and singing in the middle of the road seems to be something looked on as being close to leprosy. This is the time that I thank ebay for their commercials. For being against the grain! Who suddenly just dances and sings in the middle of the mall? I wish I could have just sang to my angry customers, "it's on ebay!". Well that is all. Thank you for your time.
Me
Renege means:
1 obsolete : to make a denial
2 : REVOKE
3 : to go back on a promise or commitment.
Example sentence: I renege everything I wrote up there. Or We don't buy from Bernie and Phil's because their daughter bought a box from us but then renege on our deal.
Me
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Black History Month
It's the end of Black History Month here in the U.S. and here are a few items of interest. Did you know that: the idea of Black History Month started with
CARTER G. WOODSON (1875-1950) who was born to parents who had been slaves. Neither his Mother nor Father could read or write. Mr. Woodson had to work to earn money for the family and did not start school until later than most children. But, his motto was it is "never to late to learn." He became a high school teacher; and was sad to discover that none of the schools taught the history of Black Americans. He started the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History to study the important things Black people had accomplished and on February 19, 1926 Woodson established "Negro History Week".
Here are two poems that I really like, (in commemoration) and which I tried to write poetry about, almost a mimicry of them, but they never turned into anything good. I like anything that makes me want to respond, want to write something good. The first one is by Gwendolyn Brooks, one that I posted a long time ago, but one that stays with me:
"The Bean Eaters"
Gwendolyn Brooks
They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair.
Dinner is a casual affair.
Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,
Tin flatware.
Two who are Mostly Good.
Two who have lived their day,
But keep on putting on their clothes
And putting things away.
And remembering . . .
Remembering, with twinklings and twinges,
As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that
is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,
tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes.
And the next one is by Langstong Hughes that I really really like. It's so evocative, and full.
"The Weary Blues"
Langston Hughes
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway . . .
He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man's soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan--
"Ain't got nobody in all this world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more--
"I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied--
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
Have a good day all!
Me
It's the end of Black History Month here in the U.S. and here are a few items of interest. Did you know that: the idea of Black History Month started with
CARTER G. WOODSON (1875-1950) who was born to parents who had been slaves. Neither his Mother nor Father could read or write. Mr. Woodson had to work to earn money for the family and did not start school until later than most children. But, his motto was it is "never to late to learn." He became a high school teacher; and was sad to discover that none of the schools taught the history of Black Americans. He started the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History to study the important things Black people had accomplished and on February 19, 1926 Woodson established "Negro History Week".
Here are two poems that I really like, (in commemoration) and which I tried to write poetry about, almost a mimicry of them, but they never turned into anything good. I like anything that makes me want to respond, want to write something good. The first one is by Gwendolyn Brooks, one that I posted a long time ago, but one that stays with me:
"The Bean Eaters"
Gwendolyn Brooks
They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair.
Dinner is a casual affair.
Plain chipware on a plain and creaking wood,
Tin flatware.
Two who are Mostly Good.
Two who have lived their day,
But keep on putting on their clothes
And putting things away.
And remembering . . .
Remembering, with twinklings and twinges,
As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that
is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths,
tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes.
And the next one is by Langstong Hughes that I really really like. It's so evocative, and full.
"The Weary Blues"
Langston Hughes
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway . . .
He did a lazy sway . . .
To the tune o' those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man's soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan--
"Ain't got nobody in all this world,
Ain't got nobody but ma self.
I's gwine to quit ma frownin'
And put ma troubles on the shelf."
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more--
"I got the Weary Blues
And I can't be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can't be satisfied--
I ain't happy no mo'
And I wish that I had died."
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that's dead.
Have a good day all!
Me
Look before you leap
Hey all happy Leap day! This brings us to the cusp of March, without today we would be in March already! Well what will you do today? This day only comes once every four years, and sometimes not even then! So whatever you do make it new, because these days are but a few, just don't catch the flu! And now, I bid you all...
Adieu
For more information on Leap Year and Leap Day click the link below:
Leapin lizards
Or just read the following:
Leap day (February 29) only occurs during a Leap Year.
Leap Year occurs every four years, except for years ending in 00, in which case only if the year is divisible by 400.
So what's the possible Y2K problem with Leap Day?:
Read the rule above again. If chipmakers and programmers got the rule perfectly correct, then there will be no problem. If they only used the main rule (every four years) but neither exception, then the year 2000 will show up as a leap year, and the only problems would be for those already using the year 2100 for some reason, but the impact in this case would be minimal. If for some reason, however, the chipmakers and/or programmers were to use the main rule (every four years) and only the first exception (except every hundred years) but not the second exception (except every four hundred years), then 2000 would come up as not being a leap year. Computers would then go from February 28 directly to March 1.
Explanation: Today, February 29th, is a leap day - a relatively rare occurrence. Advised by Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, Roman dictator Julius Caesar, created a calender system in 46 BC that contained one leap day every four years. The reason for adding leap days was that a year - defined by the time it takes the Earth to circle the Sun - does not actually take an exact integer number of days - defined by the time it takes for the Earth to rotate once. In fact, one year by these astronomical definitions is about 365.24219 days. If all calendar years contained 365 days, they would drift from the actual year by about 1 day every 4 years. Eventually July (named posthumously for Julius Caesar himself) would occur during the northern hemisphere winter! By making most years 365 days but every fourth year 366 days, the calendar year and the actual year remained more nearly in step. This "Julian" calender system was used until the year 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII added that leap days should not occur in years ending in "00" except if divisible by 400, providing a further fine tuning. This "Gregorian" calender system is the one in most common use today.
Hey all happy Leap day! This brings us to the cusp of March, without today we would be in March already! Well what will you do today? This day only comes once every four years, and sometimes not even then! So whatever you do make it new, because these days are but a few, just don't catch the flu! And now, I bid you all...
Adieu
For more information on Leap Year and Leap Day click the link below:
Leapin lizards
Or just read the following:
Leap day (February 29) only occurs during a Leap Year.
Leap Year occurs every four years, except for years ending in 00, in which case only if the year is divisible by 400.
So what's the possible Y2K problem with Leap Day?:
Read the rule above again. If chipmakers and programmers got the rule perfectly correct, then there will be no problem. If they only used the main rule (every four years) but neither exception, then the year 2000 will show up as a leap year, and the only problems would be for those already using the year 2100 for some reason, but the impact in this case would be minimal. If for some reason, however, the chipmakers and/or programmers were to use the main rule (every four years) and only the first exception (except every hundred years) but not the second exception (except every four hundred years), then 2000 would come up as not being a leap year. Computers would then go from February 28 directly to March 1.
Explanation: Today, February 29th, is a leap day - a relatively rare occurrence. Advised by Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, Roman dictator Julius Caesar, created a calender system in 46 BC that contained one leap day every four years. The reason for adding leap days was that a year - defined by the time it takes the Earth to circle the Sun - does not actually take an exact integer number of days - defined by the time it takes for the Earth to rotate once. In fact, one year by these astronomical definitions is about 365.24219 days. If all calendar years contained 365 days, they would drift from the actual year by about 1 day every 4 years. Eventually July (named posthumously for Julius Caesar himself) would occur during the northern hemisphere winter! By making most years 365 days but every fourth year 366 days, the calendar year and the actual year remained more nearly in step. This "Julian" calender system was used until the year 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII added that leap days should not occur in years ending in "00" except if divisible by 400, providing a further fine tuning. This "Gregorian" calender system is the one in most common use today.
This picture was taken a few days ago on my day out. Rich and I were surprised when we drove to this park and saw this. I pretended I was in the icy landscape of Alaska. Isn't this amazing? I see it as I drive around but I've never been so close to it. It's just the water, frozen over and broken up against the shore, jagged and slick. Don't the trees looks like they've been painted on in the background, very smudgy and smokey.
Oh by the way, there's a new poll! I love the color! haha. Take your time and answer it truthfully!
Have fun.
Me
Saturday, February 28, 2004
To be more specific on the music (because I'm not listening to the whole albums...thank you iTunes) for Chet Baker, what I really like is his "My Funny Valentine" and "Someone To Watch Over Me" and for Louis it's "La Vie En Rose". I'm also re-listening to Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me". These can all be found on my newest iTunes playlist entitled "Jazz-eh, folky". But it's not all jazz-ey songs for me, I'm also liking Maroon 5, from their album "Songs About Jane" that Mike gave me for my b-day, the song "Harder to Breathe".
Word of the Day
The word of the day is expectorating.
Is there any sense in saying "later I'm going to post the music I'm currently listening to" or should things of that nature never be alluded to and just added on without any preamble? I'm writing this query because I want to know if it's even worth while posting something you're going to do or is it just a waste of time when it'll be done later. I dunno. I might as well tell you all that I'm going to post the music I'm currently listening to later. It's similar to the books thing where I just show you the cover of the cds, although I could give you a sample of the real thing embedded in my blog, but that's too much work for busy ole me. hehe. Okay I'm gonna get to it now.
Expectorating comes from the word expectorate, which means: to discharge matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting. example sentence: I'm pretty damn good at expectorating at the people sitting below. It works better to bring their attention up to you before you expectorate in their face.
The word of the day is expectorating.
Is there any sense in saying "later I'm going to post the music I'm currently listening to" or should things of that nature never be alluded to and just added on without any preamble? I'm writing this query because I want to know if it's even worth while posting something you're going to do or is it just a waste of time when it'll be done later. I dunno. I might as well tell you all that I'm going to post the music I'm currently listening to later. It's similar to the books thing where I just show you the cover of the cds, although I could give you a sample of the real thing embedded in my blog, but that's too much work for busy ole me. hehe. Okay I'm gonna get to it now.
Expectorating comes from the word expectorate, which means: to discharge matter from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting. example sentence: I'm pretty damn good at expectorating at the people sitting below. It works better to bring their attention up to you before you expectorate in their face.
Friday, February 27, 2004
New Look
so i have a new layout, or whatever it's called. Hopefully it works ok, I still need to tweak a few things. This is just the intermission layout until I get the one that I'm working on up and going (the important word is "written"). Hey Mick and Julie, mailed letters to you two today! yay! I need to sleep now. I will post more tomorrow. Sweet dreams everyone!
Me
so i have a new layout, or whatever it's called. Hopefully it works ok, I still need to tweak a few things. This is just the intermission layout until I get the one that I'm working on up and going (the important word is "written"). Hey Mick and Julie, mailed letters to you two today! yay! I need to sleep now. I will post more tomorrow. Sweet dreams everyone!
Me
