A different way of celebrating our independence
Tomorrow is Independence Day for the US, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Here's a cute video of Captain America and other superheroes celebrating it.
Labels: Holidays
"A fascinating and enlightening look at language and other important matters" - Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune "...definitely an interesting voice!" - Languagehat.com "...a great site!" - Mary Beard, Times Literary Supplement
Tomorrow is Independence Day for the US, to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Here's a cute video of Captain America and other superheroes celebrating it.
Labels: Holidays
I still can't believe Billy Mays died--he seemed to be at the height of his success and fame, and seemed healthy as well. Here's a good ad that he did for ESPN--it's campy and clearly doesn't take itself too seriously. It mocks advertising by breaking down the obvious and using purposely stiff actors. It's just entertaining on various levels and contains cultural commentary as well.
Labels: tv
In a recent post, I discussed how speakers of different languages see color differently. Continuing with the theme of color, I thought that it might be interesting to explore how certain colors obtained their names.
Labels: guest
I'm going to take a staycation by enjoying a summer break in Chicago. I think that's a great word to express staying at home to vacation. And apparently it's a 21st century word, according to a travel article:
A Nexis search reveals that the first published use of staycation (as far as Nexis knows) was in the Myrtle Beach Sun-News on July 11, 2003. In a story entitled "Sports World Doesn't Stop for Vacation," Terry Massey uses the term to describe nine vacation days spent at home in Myrtle beach watching sports on television and preparing a nursery for a new baby.
Labels: Words
Right now I'm reading a few books, one of which is a language book that was sent to me (which I haven't finished yet), but I just finished an excellent book about the rise and fall of the company that produced Veggie Tales, and the creator's personal journey as he discovered that he was in over his head and ended up failing--his company went into bankruptcy and he had to sell the whole thing off to pay off a lawsuit. Just a total nightmare, but he admits that he was to blame for the company's demise.
Labels: Books
Almost four years ago, I did a post about working at home. I'd been working at home for a while before I did that post, but I was really starting to hate it. I liked working independently and still do, even though my primary work isn't at home, but I hated waking up and being alone in my place and never hearing other people talk, unless I went to a cafe, where I felt alone anyway, since it was just a place full of individuals not interacting with me.
Labels: Sites
Here's a preview of the anthology I put together. Now you can download it for half the price of the print version available at Amazon. It features various writers, including bloggers--check out the preview below to see the writers' bios.
Labels: Books