boomerang43's Xanga

done with finals!

Wed, 07 May 2008 16:54:16 GMT

I just finished my last final today. It's pretty weird being done before KU's official finals week. This week was pretty crazy, though, and so was the week before.

This week, I had a test on Monday, two big presentations Tuesday, a take-home final due Tuesday, and two finals in my two hardest classes today at 8:30 (Grammar) and 2:00 PM (British Literature). Both of them took about 2 hours of writing.

Tomorrow, I move all my stuff out of Miller and Friday, at 11:30 AM, I get on a plane for Italy!!

Italy

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:29:29 GMT

Hi everyone,

For those of you who don't know, I will be traveling to Italy in just two weeks. I leave on May 9th and will be in Italy for four weeks. I return on June 5th.

I get to go with the a group from the School of Education here at KU and I will be in a middle school as a student teacher. No, I am not fluent in Italian, but I have learned a little bit. I will be there to teach U.S. culture because the students already have a firm grasp on English. I hope to know lots more Italian when I return. I know I will learn lots more from the students than they will from me.

I am staying with a host family who has two daughters, ages 9 and 12. The 12 year old attends the middle school, so she'll show me around. The group of us also gets to travel to Venice for a four day weekend and Florence for a three day weekend.

There is much to do before I leave: two papers, a few short assignments, a big unit plan project, a fiction writing piece to finish, a final meeting for my America Reads tutors, two presentations, an end of year Farewell Brunch for 26 people leaving my scholarship hall, training new officers for School of Ed. club and for Miller Hall, an exam, and three huge finals. I'm also devoting next Saturday to packing for my trip.

Just wanted to give an update. I will probably be sending out a group email a few times while I'm over there, or I may try to make a Xanga post. We'll see.

new band

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 09:24:04 GMT

I recently heard some music by a band called The Weepies. I haven't looked into much about their past work, but I do like some of their new songs. Some of you might also. I added one song by them to my playlist.

Also, my very favorite song so far is called "Can't Go Back Now" and I put that in my audio blog.

Happy 24th Anniversary, Mom and Dad

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:22:59 GMT

It is April 14th and, 24 years ago, these two got hitched...

...and my mother was no longer a Woody.

Happy anniversary to two wonderful parents!

8 is a good number

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:05:18 GMT

We won it in 88 and now, in 08, we did it again.

I watched the game at Allen Fieldhouse and it was an exiting place to be watching the game. I could not believe how amazing it was that Chalmers made a 3-point shot to tie the game, with TWO SECONDS left. I actually thought we might go into overtime when the second half started.
The Fieldhouse went CRAZY when we tied up that game. Then, of course, everyone rushed onto the empty court when we won.
After that, I was one of the 75,000 people on Mass. Street. I only stayed for a short time. It took a long time just to get from 14th street to 10th street. I could barely move. Everyone was giving each other high fives and singing the rock chalk chant.

Another plus is that there's no school today!

Who's Excited about Saturday?

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 12:03:28 GMT

Today, all KU students got a message from coach Bill Self. He also sent this link. Click on it and watch a message from Bill Self, as well as the famous Rock Chalk Chant. Go KU!

http://www.jayhawks.ku.edu

I also made this post in order to say that I've been listening to the new Broadway cast recording of The Little Mermaid. Things are just so exciting around here!

Previously unreleased pictures of Parker J. Wright

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:21:58 GMT

Parker before his extensive dental work...
Really, these pictures illustrate just how fun it is to have little brothers. Parker is about two years old, here, at the Murray Road 2-weeker of '02.

I think he's trying to smile in this one.

The Answers!

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 18:28:20 GMT

1. Dead men tell no tales.

2. Beginner's luck

3. A rolling stone gathers no moss.

4. Birds of a feather flock together.

5. Beauty is only skin deep.

6. Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

7. No use crying over spilt milk

8. Spare the rod and spoil the child

9. The pen is mightier than the sword.

10. You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

11. Look before you leap.

12. Twinkle, twinkle, little star! How I wonder what you are!

13. He who laughs last laughs best. (Lots of variation on this proverb, but my teacher gave the answer in this form.)

14. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.

15. Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.

16. Where there's smoke, there's fire.

17. All that glitters is not gold.

18. Beggers can't be choosers.

I was impressed with everyone's gigantic vocabulary!

I believe first place goes to LRH who didn't actually post answers, but did accurately correct the only one that Mahalaleel missed.

I think my dad would be second place because he only misworded the "He who laughs last laughs best." He said "laughs loudest," which I've also heard.

Third place was a tie between Mahalaleel and Glatitsme.

Nice job, everyone.

I think the prize for 1st place should be, well, to fulfill a request from me. I think it would be great and hilarious if LRH would write a book of children's songs using large vocabulary. This is inspired by the twinkle, twinkle little star answer, of course. I think it could be the next big thing for new parents who want baby brainiacs! LRH, you don't have to do this, of course, but I just wanted to throw it out there.

A post dedicated to my Aunt LRH and to J-Dawg

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:36:36 GMT

This post is really for everyone, but I know that the two people mentioned in the title will REALLY love this post. Why? It is all about vocabulary.

The following 18 sentences are common proverbs and sayings. However, they have been written using complicated vocabulary. Can you define them in simple English? I know that some of you out there will be able to do all 18. We did this in my Reading Across the Curriculum class and I was only able to get 5 correct. Hahaha.

Also, of course, don't cheat by looking up any strange vocabulary word.

1. Male cadavers are incapable of rendering any testimony.

2. Neophyte's serendipity.

3. A revolving lithic conglomerate accumulates no congeries of small, green, biophytic plant.

4. Members of an avian species of identical plumage tend to congregate.

5. Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.

6. Freedom from incrustations of grime is contiguous to rectitude. (one of my favorites)

7. It is fruitless to become lachrymose of precipitately decanted lacteal fluid. (One that I think Jenna will love)

8. Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.

9. The stylus is more potent than the rapier.

10. It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.

11. Surveillance should precede saltation.

12. Scintillate, scintillate, asteroid minific! Fain would I fathom your nature specific!
(HAHAHAHAAAA! This is my favorite!)

13. The person presenting the ultimate cachinnation possesses thereby the optimal cachinnation.

14. Exclusive dedication to necessitous chores without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders a hypothetical hominid a hebetudinous fellow.

15. Individuals who make their abodes in vitreous edifices would be well advised to refrain from catapulting petrious projectiles.

16. Where there are visible vapors having their provenance in ignited carbonaceous materials, there is conflagration.

17. All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly resplendent.

18. Sorting on the part of medicants must be interdicted.

I can't wait to hear the responses!

a bit more on dialect surveys

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:50:04 GMT

Thanks everyone for your feedback! I love learning about stuff like that.

For those still interested, this website has a longer list of pronunciation differences. If you click on one, it will bring up a map of the areas of the U.S. that use that type of pronunciation.

http://www4.uwm.edu/FLL/linguistics/dialect/maps.html

The map is interesting, but it's also cool to see the variety of responses listed per item.

You can also take this interactive quiz to determine if your speech is more "Yankee" or "Dixie."

http://www.angelfire.com/ak2/intelligencerreport/yankee_dixie_quiz.html