Funny boyfriends

Check out this hilarious twitter (Warning, not for the easily offended. It's a wee bit brash.)

I don't know if you all will think this is funny, but I laugh everytime I go check it out. The story behind these tweets:

A nice American gossip blogger met a nice Frenchman in New York City. Long story short, they fell in love. The only problem? The language barrier.

I can understand this one. American English is a ridiculously confusing language if you're not a native speaker. (I really started to notice this when I started learning Spanish this year.) So many figures of speech, idiom phrases, and three variations with three different meanings of the word "there."

I'm sorry non-natives. You should have picked an easier second language - like Spanish.

All kidding aside, this twitter feed cracks me up. Yes, it's a little vulgar at times, but we're big boys and girls - I think we can handle it. These quotes are prime examples of what a tough time people who speak English as a second language have with slang.

I'll leave you with this silly quote, from aforementioned American blogger's French boyfriend.

Babies are fat because they can't walk. Then they learn to walk, and they get less fat. Sometimes.

Why I love technology...

... in school, that is.

For example: right now I'm in my second hour Anatomy class. (Don't worry, Mr. Ludwig's not here. And the sub's doing an excellent job of babysitting us.) But, thats not really the point. I have my own little laptop everyday in class, because everything is so centered on technology. It really comes in handy for taking notes, doing virtual labs, and checking out the news.

(Not to mention facebook and gossip blogs. Hehe)

We even take our tests online! (Which our whole class thoroughly enjoys, on account of the lack of hand cramps.)

I think laptops in the classroom are a great addition to the high school experience. Yes, at times it can be tempting to focus on our instructor instead of the always interesting social networking, but I think it teaches us a lesson in self-control. Eventually, we're going to have this technology dilemma again - when we enter the workplace. So, we might as well learn sooner rather than later.

Thats my piece this morning :)

My Obsession With Really Old Pictures - Part 2

Guess who?!

(It's me. Imagine that)

Any guesses for this little guy?

(That would be the baby brother. Good thing he can't see this or he might kill me. Hehe)

Now this is a tough one. (It happens to be my mother. She was pretty cute.)

^ That's my grandma. It's one of her only two baby pictures ever. And it happens to be over 80 years old.

This happy guy is my grandpa. He's about three in this one. Our family thinks it's the first picture taken of him. (Fellow classmates, check out the dust bowl. It doesn't look like any fun.)

Now, here's my point:

When I discovered that my grandparents had 3 (THREE!) baby pictures between the two of them, it kind of blew my mind. Babies born today have at least three pictures taken on their first day on the planet! (All thanks due to cheap digital photography.)

But, back in the late 1920's, pictures were a luxury. You had them taken on a sporadic basis, and only if you had money. Plus, there had to be a photographer in your area. In the case of my grandpa, he lived on a farm near Kim, CO, which was extremely rural. (That fact, added with his lower-middle class status, explains why he only has one picture to represent the first years of his lfe.)

It's definately a culture shock for us twenty-first century types.

Strange New Liking for Bach?

Check out this crazy man on an organ.

(And I mean organ like the instrument. The guy's not hopping up and down on a kidney or something of that sort. Because that would be ridiculous :P )

A little backstory on this crazy clip. I have a Music Appreciation class at the college every Tuesday night. (It's three hours of my life I'd rather spend elsewhere, but that's an entirely different story.) So far, we have studied music from the begining of recorded time to the Classical period. That little gem by Johann Sebastion Bach is from the Baroque period, and I've strangely become facisnated with it.

My relationship with this song (Fugue in G minor, if you were wondering) started out rocky. I was being forced to study it so I would be able to recognize it on the test. (And if you know me, I really despise being forced to do anything. I generally whine. A lot.) Slowly, our relationship grew from "I don't hate it but I'm not enjoying it" to "I must watch it performed on youtube for the seventh time."

Weird, I know. I'm continually enthralled by this crazy man and his amazing skill. So, I figured I'd share it with you. Because I think its really interesting. But that might just be the gigantic nerd in me talking.

Those Sneaky Disney Flicks

Very Good Advice

I love re-watching old Disney movies. (And not only because I understand all the amusing innuendos now.) There are some very adult themes hiding in an old Disney movie. (I say old because some of the more recent ones have been fluffy rubbish.)

Peter Pan deals with the tough concept of being okay with growing up, something I"m sure all of us struggled with at one time or another. Sleeping Beauty is more than just about true love, it focuses on family and making sacrificies. I think Alice in Wonderland may be one of the most poignant films ever made for children. Look at this quote from the clip:

Alice: Well, when I was lost, I suppose it's good advice to stay where you are until someone finds you. But who'd ever think to look for me here?

[sigh]
Alice: Good advice. If I listened earlier, I wouldn't be here. But that's just the trouble with me. I give myself very good advice, but I very seldom follow it.

I find myself having the same problems as Alice occaisonally. I'm a girl with a good head on my shoulders, and still I find myself doing some stupid things every once in awhile. But, I'm sure it's all just part of the process of growing up and learning from one's mistakes.

We all just have to figure it out for ourselves :)

Anybody else like Legos? Hehe

Lego Jesus

Adam and Eve Legos

 X-Men Legos

(This is for you Mrs. Smith) - Lego Hamlet

Serious question classmates: Who doesn't love Legos?

These adorable little blocks bring joy and nuture creativity for millions of kids today. (Remember when we were those little kids? Aww.) And, as these pictures show, Lego's aren't neccessarily for kids anymore.

How cool are these scenes?! (Google Lego scenes if you want to see some more)

Thank you Danish people! Some cool facts:
1. The Legos we know and love were first created in 1949
2. Lego blocks from 1958 will fit together with any blocks made today
3. Lego is the combination of two Danish words leg godt - which means "lets play" (Those Danish people are smart!)

So, I just figured I'd fill you all in the weird stuff about Legos. Because I love me some Legos :D

(And, to all of you who have never experienced the joy of Lego's - I'm sorry. My Lego's were hand-me-downs from my brothers. And probably the only decent ones I ever recieved.)

Coincidence

Yesterday as I was slaving away on a powerpoint about movies in the 1920s, I came across an interesting tibdit of information that relates to our focus on the contemporaries of William Faulkner.

There is a term for the American literary notables during this time: the Lost Generation. They were given this nickname because they were often cynical and disallusioned about life after World War I. Famous members included Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Gertrude Stein. (Keep in mind English class, we studied all of these people, so they should sound familiar.)

Now, thats not neccessarily the interesting part. We are considered a lost generation of our own. The term now has a generic use for anyone disproportionally affected by an economic shock. The period from 2007-2010 is considered an economic shock, just like the period after WWI.

It's interesting to think about. Here's more food for thought.

A Short History of Nail Polish. Which I Find Very Amusing.

As I was in the shower this evening, a thought came to me. (By the way, don't you love how that works?) Anyway, I happened to gaze down at my fingers, notice that my nails were much too long, and then start chipping away at my polish.
And then, quite suddenly, the big thought came to me:

Where did nail polish come from?

So, I took my frantic curiousity to wikipedia. And the nice folks there set me straight.

Apparantly, some sort of nail dye has been around forever. The Chinese, Ancient Egyptians, and even Incas all painted their nails. Here's a fun fact; apparantly Queen Nerfertiti had her finger and toe nails dyed a deep ruby red. In most ancient cultures, a deep red jewel tone was reserved for the royals. Everyone else had to use lighter and more pastel tones.

That little tidbit is quite a boost to my ego, seeing as my toe nails are painted fire-engine-red at the moment.

So there it is, a short history of nail polish. Those of you who are ridiculously curious will find this silly and interesting. The rest of you will just think I'm weird :)

By the way, I hate when this happens

Essay Update...Plus Inspiration!

So, I decided on a topic! (My grandma won. We'll pretend it was a close race.) I just finished the rough draft a bit ago, and I'm pretty pleased with it. Minus the fact that it needs some major organizational help.

Plus, its centered around a table. Which may come across as brilliant and interesting or just plain random and confusing. I'm crossing my fingers for brilliant.

That bit of background brings me to the actual topic of this blog. It's one of those magical "teach you an actual lesson" kind of stories, and I'm really exctied to share it with you. (By the way classmates, if you had first or second grade with me then you might remember this grandma. She used to come and read to us.)


My grandma has always been a teacher. (As a matter of fact, she was my pre-school in its entirety. And I could read before kindegarten so that tells you something about her skills. Hehe) During the last years of her actual teaching career, her rhuematoid arthritis was getting nearly unbearable. I remember her telling me she would go in everyday at least an hour in advance to put her lessons on the board. Because writing was so painful, she went very slowly. At her lunch break, she would go and get her lunch, then bring it back to her room. She said she quit eating with the teachers because she was so depressed. My grandma would eat, then simply sit at her desk and cry because she knew she would have to stop teaching so much sooner than she wanted to.
Eventually, my grandma retired from teaching after 32 years. She says her red-headed and stubborn nature is what caused her to keep teaching those last two years. The rest of the family has always attributed it to her true passion for teaching.

Thats the story that taught me an extremely important lesson: never stop doing what you love. My grandma has always been a teacher. She never actually "retired" in my book. :)

(She didn't know I was taking this picture. It's one of my favorites.)

Multi-tasking

(I'm trying to kill two birds with one stone here: blog and pre-write for an upcoming essay at the same time.)

So, some background on this assingment. I need to write a brilliant observational essay focused on something in my community. I have absolutely no idea what I want to write about. And it's due Friday. I've definately got some work to do here.

First things first, I'm going to Wikipedia to look at the article on my town. Perhaps that will give me a tantilizing tidbit of information to focus this essay on.

Oh wow. That article nearly put me to sleep. On to google....

Well, the internet has given me nothing. I slept on it, and I've decided I need to write about something I've observed thats a little closer to home. So far the choices are between my grandma, my monster-in-law, and my little brother.

Its going to be a toughie. Wish me luck :)

Oh, and by the way, heres your funny :)