Read, people!

I get a weekly email from the National Council of Teachers of English, highlighting various news stories that have to do with education in general, and reading/writing specifically. This doozy was included in the latest email.

Seriously, what is wrong with people? Did they miss the same lesson I had in school that you really shouldn't complain about something until you know what it's all about? I personally have never read What's Eating Gilbert Grape? or watched the movie, but I have a problem with fundamentally banning something before it's been read in its entirety and understood.

That's all...just wanted to vent.

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

An Announcement:

I have really nice legs.

A Multi-Media Post

To begin with, I just finished a book entitled The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary. I assumed, silly me, that this was a work of fiction, but found it to be somewhat of a dual biography of two men: James Murray and William Minor. I learned a lot about the OED, as well as about these two men. If you need something to read at doctors' offices or on planes, this might be a good one to pick up.

Some quotes:

"German scholars in particular are constantly deriving much pleasure from winning an informal lexicographic contest that aims at finding quotations which antedate those in the OED."-p. 29

"G0d--who in that part of London society was of course firmly held to be an Englishman--naturally approved the spread of the language as an essential imperial device; but he also encouraged its undisputed corollary, which was the worldwide growth of Christianity."--p. 78

"The English, who had raised eccentricity and poor organization to a high art, and placed the scatterbrain on a pedestal, loathed such Middle European things as rules, conventions, and dictatorships."--p. 106-7

Next on the agenda, is a list of 5 songs I'm thinking people should hear if they haven't already, either because they are fun or interesting. One is a Xmas song, but it's so beautiful (and I know some of you freaks start your Xmas shopping now), I thought I'd pass it along.

Kenny Rogers & Wynnona Judd: Mary, did you know?
Carrie Underwood: Before He Cheats
Danity Kane: Showstopper
Bowling for Soup: Next Ex-Girlfriend
John Mayer: Daughters

And lastly, a quiz I took:

You are The Hierophant

Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.

All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.

The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Cellular

Okay, so IMDB has this to say about the movie Cellular, staring Kim Bassinger. The movie starts off a bit in bizarro land, because there's absolutely NO reason for this blonde, suburban, high school biology teacher (Sorry, Anathema), to be kidnapped by a bunch of thugs, including the guy from The Transporter. Anyway, eventually the plot starts to come together, and by the end I think I figured out what was going on, although there was a certain lack of explanation as to why the thugs had done what they'd done to get them into trouble in the first place. (Vague, I know, but should any of you ever see the movie, I don't want to ruin it for you.)

Besides the fact that the guy who played Ryan is hot, Jim from the tv show The Sentinel was also in it, so that was some nice eye candy. Most of you know him from Desperate Housewives, but he was far cooler on The Sentinel, trust me.

On the whole, it was a pretty good movie, after the bumpy beginning, and if you're stuck inside due to inclement weather, you might want to consider picking it up.

Early morning post

I had to put this up before I forgot.

So I did watch The Simpsons last night to hear Kiefer Sutherland...too bad he didn't sound like Kierfer.

My roommate may have put it best. While we were watching "I Trust You to Kill Me," a documentary on VH1 about the band/singer Kiefer is promoting (not his), the A-train said to me "His voice is so gravelly...it sounds like sex. Really good sex. I did not think that was possible."

So yeah...where was my "really good sex" voice last night on "The Simpsons?" Other than that, it was a pretty good episode.

COAST GUARD!

The End

I just finished reading The End, book 13 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Damn you, Lemony Snicket, and your ever-expanding mystery! Actually, the book was pretty good, with some rather amusing bits along the way. If you're ever bored and have a little bit of time, you should try to read through these books.

"Perhaps one night, when you were very small, someone tucked you into bed and read you a story called The Little Engine That Could, and if so then you have my profound sympathies, as it is one of the most tedious stories on Earth."--p. 235

"...they found spices that they did not associate wth anything, such as marjoram, which everyone owns but scarcely anyone uses, and powdered lemon peel, which should only be used in emergencies, such as when fresh lemons have become extinct."--p. 268-9

Kelly and I are channeling each other.

What's Your Inner Beast? [pics]

The Feline: The Feline is the symbol for Independence. You have a soul of a Cat inside you, which reflects a sensitive and independant behavior. Strengths: Normal routines are common in this lifestyle as the Feline doesn't enjoy being brought upon something new because of this calm nature. The Feline is never really seen with many friends because of the indepenence it takes. A high awareness, overly observant, is also common. Some may call you an outcast at times, but you always seem to fit in wherever you are needed. Flip Side: The past is like the present for you. The memories of long ago, good and bad, haunt your mind, and regret is always on the fringes of your thoughts. You can be very sensitive and shy when it comes to certain topics, and even around people. Congratulations! You have a Cat inside! pic (c) Christy Grandjean aka GoldenWolfen Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Which Classic Story Role Do You Play?

- You Are The Outlaw "Sure, I'll do it. My way." Just because you do not conform to the same laws and rules as everyone else does not mean that you are a bad guy. You travel your own path, separate from those around you, with your own reasons for doing what you do. Because of this and your own nature, it goes without saying that you are generally misunderstood. That does not matter much, though, as people love you for being who you are. You are pretty well set in your ways and have no real intention of changing. This can come across as a flicker of arrogance if your not careful. You do what is right for you, and God help anyone who stands in your way. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Also, I finished reading How to Make an American Quilt at the gym on Friday. I like generational books like this, books that cover more than one life over many years. Definitely a "chick" book, but if you need something to read while on the treadmill/elliptical/stationary bike, it's worth it.

Quotes to Ponder:

"People are confused by women who are neither exceptional nor married; they seem to feel you should be one or the other."--p. 103

"How do these Californians stand it? It makes one lazy as hell. With so much of the year like summer, who rushes out to do any sort of summertime thing? I mean, what is the hurry--they sun will be back tomorrow. And the next day and the next."--Dean, p. 116

"No one, least of all yourself, really likes anything left over, something that, by its very nature, is shared with someone else. You feel this way about food, antique-clothing stores (ussed shoes give you a particularly creepy, unwholesome feeling, but then, you are a child of the 1930s), old houses, used cars, and gentlemen on the rebound. You want your own, brand-new, unused whatever it is; you want it to be exclusively yours, bear your mark."--p. 123

"Sometimes the oldest child is the lost child....The oldest child is unsure, always. It s uncertainty that comes from charting out new territory, dragging his parents along, clearing the way for siblings. When one makes a pancake, one always makes a tester first: the one that is poured on the hot griddle, then discarded as imperfect. Someone once said that oldest children are like tester pancakes and should be tossed out....They are buried children, locking up their rebellious or unruly nature, sometimes taking it out on brothers and sisters, hiding it from the adults. They bury the insecurity, the need; they overachieve or they disappear; they often harbor just the smallest fear."--p. 153-4

Curiouser and curiouser...

Would anyone like to claim responsibility for the two unmarked, wrapped presents I received from Amazon.com?

Or explain why I'm getting The Time Traveler's Wife from someone in Eden, NY?

I didn't think posting my wish-list addresses would cause such mystery!

Yay, Friday.

Weirdness of my life

1. Has anyone else seen A Clockwork Orange? OMG, WTF, BBQ? Roommate almost walked out at the beginning, but we stuck it through to the end. Still not sure why anyone would consider it to be a classic...although maybe the book is better? *shrug*

2. The old guy who lives in the apartment building next to ours informed me, after I had parked my car, that I needed to move it because he was "trying to clear up the leaves" and I had "parked right on top of them." *blink* Seriously, the guy was picking up the leaves in the parking lot and putting them into a garbage bag to dispose of. Old people are weird.

3. One of the seniors at my school died in a car accident last night/this morning (details unclear). The whole senior class was in a state of shock; this is the second classmate of theirs to die since I started working at the school. (Maybe it's me?) Anyway, this is not a good time of year for people to be driving; we should all teleport to and from our destinations until the winter. Fewer freak accidents in the winter because people are driving safer. Usually. Knock on wood.