Why English is the Most Difficult Language to Learn

     If you speak English, you may think that other languages do not make sense.  In reality, it is ENGLISH that is nearly impossible to understand.  We have a word for EVERYTHING, so much so that many different (often unrelated things) have the same name.  But are they pronounced the same?  Of course not!!!  It is all in the context that tells you how these words are supposed to be pronounced.  When speaking with someone they are not to be confused, but reading them is another matter. 

     Here are just a few of the words I have found that must make learning English one of the most difficult tasks imaginable:

Minute (small) Minute (60 seconds)

Read (present tense of interpreting words) Read (Past tense of “read”)

Wound (injury) Wound (something that has been wrapped)

Wind (breeze) Wind (to wrap something)

Polish (the language) Polish (what you put on nails)

Lead (as in to be a leader) Lead (the element)

Fair (rides, food, whatnot) Fair (to treat people equally)

Tire (to become bored) Tire (round rubber things on cars)

Can (able) Can (metal container)

Jar (to bump or unsettle) Jar (glass container)
Close (near) Close (to shut)
Change (to become different) Change (coins)

Stick (to make something become stuck as with tape) Stick (the arms of snowmen)

Staples (that which go in a stapler) Staples (international office supply company)

Point (an impolite thing to do) Point (good things to make)
Project (something to make) Project (to make yourself heard, as on a stage)

Box (used to ship) Box (a fake sport)

Ship (a large boat) Ship (to send something, which can be done via a ship)

Free (available) Free (no cost)

Pop (a sound) Pop (dad) Pop (soda)

     Then you have the words that SOUND the same, but are spelt differently!  This is where it becomes confusing to listen to someone, and you have to pay attention to the rest of the story.  Oh my goodness!

Read (this word is just annoying) Red (the color)

Fair (again, always annoying) Fare (the price to enter something such as a fair)

Lead (ditto for the frustration level) Led (past tense of to lead)

Road (the street) Rode (to have ridden)

Be (preposition) Bee (buzz)

Bored (to become tired) Board (plank)

Bore (repetitive and uninteresting) Boar (animal)

Weather (snow, rain…) Whether (or not)

Which (either or) Witch (pointy hat and broomstick)

One (1) Won (to win)

Eight (8) Ate (to have eaten)

Four (4) For (preposition)

Two (2) To (preposition) Too (also)

Do (action) Due (needs to be done) Doo (poopy)

There (place) Their (ownership) They’re (They + are)

     I have a new found respect for people with Dyslexia, especially in English-speaking countries.  And this isn't even taking into account slang!

Tetradrachm

     So I am doing a project on a silver tetradrachm of Alexander the Great.  I thought a good place to start was learning what the heck a tetradrachm was, and thought I would share this (probably useless - but that is the point) piece of knowledge.

A drachm (also called a dram) was the primary unit of currency in Greece before the adoption of the euro.  It is a Greek unit of weight equal to six obols, an eighth of an ounce (fluid or solid), or 60 grains. 

Tetra means four.

Tetradrachm therefore means four drachms, or drams.  This would be equivalent to ½ ounce (4 X 1/8 oz. = ½ oz.)  It is an ancient Greek coin equivalent to four drachms, or ½ oz.

So now you know!  Here is a picture of the silver tetradrachm I am doing my project on, currently located at the British Museum in London.  (This is from their website.  I'll share my own photo when I go and see it for myself!)

Black Friday Cartoon

What comes after Thanksgiving?  Black Friday and all of its crazy deals and shoppers.  The sales start so early in the morning, they basically start Thanksgiving night.

Happy Thanksgiving: To Family

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.  If you don't, you should still take time to be thankful for the blessings in your life...such as family.

May your family dinner be much calmer than this one tonight!

Christmas is Coming...FAST!

Holidays have their own seasons for a reason.

Oz Thanksgiving

The Hypocrite

Tables Have Turned

Mooing Turkeys

     Here in America we celebrate Thanksgiving every forth Thursday of November.  It is "Turkey Day," where we gather with family, eat LOTS of food, and are thankful for the joys in our lives.

     Seeing as next Thursday is Thanksgiving, I'll be posting some Thanksgiving cartoons from now until then to get us all in the spirit, (especially since where I live it snowed before Halloween and Christmas decorations are already out).  None of them are mine, but TOTALLY worth sharing.



4 Years!!!!

     Today is my four year anniversary from the day I was diagnosed with cancer.  My perspective on life has changed since then.  I appreciate the little things, as I think everyone should.


     I also understand what seems terrible in the moment, may just be a blessing incognito.  For the worst day of my life ultimately led to the greatest day of my life.  I am so happy to be here today.  


     No one guaranteed you a tomorrow, so make the most out of today!  There is no time like the present!  (And I could come up with other clichés...)  Life is precious; enjoy it!


     November 14, 2007, thank you SO much for September 19, 2011.

11/11/11

     Hey!  It's 11:11 on 11/11/11!  You'll see that tonight, and then never again!  Make a wish!

London Time

     I went to London back in September, and am still there mentally.  I was not there long enough to adjust to the time zone, and yet I will still look at my watch and say “gee, it’s 3 am in London.”  And not just because my watch is still set five hours ahead, but because I like to imagine what would I be doing over the pond at a given time.

     What is must be like to live over there…The public transportation is so easy to follow, and everyone is so friendly.  For as fast-paced as the city is, I never felt as if I was lost.  New York, Boston, and Hartford scare me, and yet I can walk around the streets of London at 23:30 (I told you I am still on London Time).

     It all just makes more sense over there.  The stores close early and many are not open on Sundays (or close by noon).  As annoying as that may be to a tourist, that must be nice to people who live there.  The city gets quite early, and Sunday is family day. 

     We have lost that sense of family in America.  Here you try to work late to squeeze in more than 40 hours so you can make some extra money.  Children go in so many directions for sports and activities that dinner is no longer a family meal.  You grab something to eat on your way out of the door.  We want instant gratification.  Fast food.  On Demand television.  Movies downloaded right to your computer. 

     Where does it end?  No one can sit down and play a board game as a family anymore.  If it doesn’t have a million different lights and buzzers and play itself, no child wants to take part in it.  We are losing not only the family unit, but the ability to think for our selves.  We want to be entertained, and want to exert as little effort as possible in order to do so. 

     Another thing I loved about London was the fact that there were bikes for rent every few feet of the sidewalk.  People would rent them and ride around the city.  I realize that this was in some cases the best form of transportation, but it was also a nice way to see the city and to get some extra exercise.  Not many people ride bikes in America.  If they do, they have no where to ride them since there are no bike lanes like there are in London.

     London may do some things backwards, but they have the right idea with many others.  When you see me move to London, now you’ll know why.  It is better over there.

Dreams Lead Us Down The Right Path

"The worst thing that happens to you may be the best thing for you if you don't let it get the best of you."
-Will Rogers

     Sometimes what we truly want in life is what we get in life; it is meant to be.  Other times what we really want in life will lead us down a path that we had never imagined traveling.  That is not the time to dwell on how our expectations are not being met the way we had planned, but to see where our goal will lead us. 

     Most of the time where you will find yourself is a much better place than you ever could have found on your own.

     That is not to say that you should give up on your dreams.  They will always be an enjoyable part of your life if you allow them to be.

     Continue shooting for the moon.  If your dreams NEVER seem impossible, chances are that you are thinking too small.

Power OUT

     So I lost power on October 29^th due to snow.  Is something wrong with that picture?  Two days before Halloween, and I had snow.  It was the first white Halloween I have ever seen, not to mention the first one that was cancelled (no one was allowed to go trick-or-treating in my area). 

     Global Warming is getting bad quick.  But what got me wasn’t so much the fact that snow came in late October; it was how little we can do without electricity.  When the power goes out, the world seems to stop.  No one can function anymore.  What is even scarier, is that the more advanced we become, the further behind we are falling.

     Years ago when the power went out, it was restored within a few hours.  Now you are lucky if you get it back within a few DAYS.  And no one can fend for themselves.  No TV.  No internet.  No way of charging the electronics we have come to rely on.  When a battery dies, that’s it, game over.  Finished. 

     Many people don’t even have landlines anymore.  How long do you think a cell phone battery lasts?  A lot less than a modern-day black-out, especially if your battery was on its last leg at the time.

     You can’t do your banking, you can’t check out a library book, and you can’t even pump gas without electricity.  You also can’t watch a battery-powered TV in a black-out anymore with digital cable.  There is no reception for analog television sets.  And if your phone service is bundled with your cable, your phone does out along with the power (unlike if they are separate services you have a chance the line will remain working).  But if your phones are all cordless?  Forget it!  You have no phone service anyhow.  (EVERYONE should have at least one corded phone in their house so they will have service in case power goes out.)  What an advancement!

     What is this world coming to?  You can’t look up or watch the weather.  If there  is an emergency notice, how are you supposed to know what is going on?  All this advancement is biting us in the butt.