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WHAT COLOR ORANGE ARE YOU?????

You Are Cameo
You are understanding and very empathetic. It's easy for you to see where people are coming from.
You find so much joy from other people. You're a social butterfly, and you wouldn't live any other way.
You don't tend to have acquaintances. Everyone is your friend.
And all of your friends tend to be friends. You have a knack for bringing very different people together.




I am Cameo. . .whatever color that is.  I answered 5 simple questions, and voila, the answer seems to be true for me.


Take the test and find out what color orange are you?  

 http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolororangeareyouquiz/


ETERNAL MOONWALK. . .A TRIBUTE TO MICHAEL JACKSON. . .FROM AROUND THE WORLD. . .

Eternal moonwalk - A tribute to Michael Jackson..

Eternal moonwalk - A tribute to Michael Jackson.



The idea of this video came from a Belgian radio station Studio Brussel (StuBru),Eternal Moonwalk has a simple concept: Anyone anywhere can send in a 10-second clip of themselves putting their own spin on the famed Moonwalk dance. There are a couple of specifications-everyone should be heading in
the same direction, hands and feet
should be visible-and then you, too, can be tied into a seamless international loop.

It's great fun to check out the dance move as interpreted by all ages in Turkish living rooms, English backyards, a kitchen in Rio de Janeiro or an office in upstate New York (someone in Tokyo-of course-submitted an animated robot). It's a rather mesmerizing spectacle, with the number of meters moonwalked ticking upward as thousands of feet slide across the globe.

via Very Short List




TODAY IS DICTIONARY DAY. . .


Dictionaries by jovike.


. . . named for Noah Webster's birthday in 1758.

So who is Webster?  He was a teacher who disliked American elementary schools.  Overcrowded classrooms, with up to seventy children of all ages crammed into one-room schoolhouses, poorly staffed with untrained teachers, and poorly equipped with no desks and unsatisfactory textbooks that came from England. Webster thought that Americans should learn from American books, so he wrote  three volume book called A Grammatical Institute of the English Language. The work consisted of a speller), a grammar, and a reader. His goal was to provide a uniquely American approach to training children.

He complained that the English language had been corrupted by the British aristocracy, which set its own standard for proper spelling and pronunciation. Webster rejected the notion that the study of Greek and Latin must come before the study of English grammar.

The Speller was arranged so that it could be easily taught to students, and it progressed by age. From his own experiences as a teacher, Webster thought the Speller should be simple and gave an orderly presentation of words and the rules of spelling and pronunciation. Webster said that children pass through distinctive learning phases in which they master increasingly complex or abstract tasks. Therefore, teachers must not try to teach a three-year-old how to read; they could not do it until age five. He organized his speller accordingly, beginning with the alphabet and moving systematically through the different sounds of vowels and consonants, then syllables, then simple words, then more complex words, and finally sentences.

The speller was the most popular American book of its time, and by 1861, it sold a million copies per year, and its royalty of less than one cent per copy was enough to help Webster in his other endeavors. Some consider it to be the first dictionary created in the United States, and it helped create the popular contests known as spelling bees.

Slowly, he changed the spelling of words, so that they became "Americanized." He chose s over c in words like defense, he changed the re to er in words like center, he dropped one of the Ls in traveler, and at first he kept the u in words like colour or favour but dropped it in later editions. 

In 1806, Webster published his first dictionary, and at the age of 43, he began writing an expanded and comprehensive edition that took 27 years to complete.  His hope was to standardize American speech, since Americans in different parts of the country spelled, pronounced, and used words differently.  His first dictionary contained 70,000 words, of which 12,000 had never appeared in a published dictionary   Unfortunately, this dictionary only sold 2,500 copies, and for the rest of his life Webster lived in debt.

For those of you who have sat in my classroom, you know how much I love looking up words, and to celebrate Dictionary Day, I am going to give you some of the new words that have just been added into the new edition of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.


1.  carbon footprint - the amount of carbon emitted by something during a given period.

2.  earmark - a provision in congressional legislation that allocates a specified amount of money for a specific project, program or organization.

3.  reggaeton - popular music of Puerto Rican origin that combines rap with Caribbean rhythms.

4.  locavore - one who eats foods grown locally whenever possible.

5.  staycation - vacation spent at home or nearby.

6.  fan fiction - stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet.

7.  frenemy- one who pretends to be a friend but is actually an enemy

8.  sock puppet - a false online identity used for deceptive purposes.

9.  haram - forbidden by Islamic law

10.  webisode - an episode especially of a TV show that may or may not have been telecast but can be viewed at a Web site.

GONE. . .BUT NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN. . .

. . .couldn't take my eyes or body away from the TV screen during the Michael Jackson memorial.  Mariah Carey,Jennifer Hudson, Usher, John Mayer, Queen Latifah, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Barry Gordy, all legends in the music industry, came to say farewell to "the greatest entertainer in the world."  It was a glowing tribute to the life of a man who was scorned, harassed, loved, and adored.  The most touching moment came at the end when Michael's daughter Paris spoke about her love and devotion for a father that was gone.  And through it all, I felt an amazing spirit of a man who cared about the world, and all those less fortunate.


BUTTON, BUTTON, WHO'S GOT THE BUTTON. . .

buttons buttons buttons by haveyouseenthisgirl.



. . .old memories are a strange thing.  Time can pass and you don't even remember something that happened years and years ago.  Today, I looked at the buttons running down a shirt I was hand washing, and I suddenly remembered my first job.  Usually when I think about my first job, I remember working as an usher at a movie theater. . .but that's another whole story.  For some reason, looking at the buttons on this shirt reminded me that I really had a job before that, working at Sew and So.

Sew and So was a store in Mission Valley, and I had just turned 18 years old.  Back in the day, a kid couldn't get a job until he or she was 18 years old, and finally I had my own car (another interesting story), and was independent, but in need of gas money.  I don't even remember why I sought employment at the button store, but I was hired.  Besides babysitting, I had never worked anywhere, and was excited about the possibility of earning a paycheck.

Sew and So not only sold buttons, but it was a specialized store that sold everything needed for making clothes, hats, and accessories.  Walls were filled with small drawers, and enchanting items were displayed.  If a customer was looking for a nice set of buttons, then this was the place to come.  Brides preparing for their big day would rush into the store to buy the items needed for their wedding veil.

What did I know about dressmaking, hatmaking, and general making of anything?  Although my mother was an excellent seamstress, and at one time had a business making beautiful velveteen dresses, I, on the other hand, never learned much about sewing.  In the 7th grade I took a required clothing class, and brought home the skirt that I was making and asked my mother to show me how to sew in the zipper.  She opened her Singer sewing machine, and before I knew what had happened, she had the zipper sewn in within moments.  "But mom, how am I ever going to learn to do it myself if you don't show me?"  But she waved me away, and said she would teach me another day.  45 years later, and I still don't know how to sew a zipper into a garment, or even a straight line to make a seam.

Anyhow, I worked at Sew and So for probably a month or two before I found another job at the Cinerama Theater in Mission Valley (no longer there).  Not knowing much about sewing made me very uncomfortable, especially when I was supposed to be helping customers.  Keeping busy, cleaning up, and occasionally sorting stock was boring and dull.  I loved getting my first paycheck, but after that, I hated going to work. 

While I have lots of buttons today, part of my scrapbooking stash, the only real value of buttons that I can see, is that without them, my body would be exposed to undesireable staring and gawking.  Now tell me, who wants to see an old lady's crotch, or breasts???!!!!!

2759083310_0823531829_m                275492706_a379560e07_m

MUNDANE. . .BUT NECESSARY. . .

. . .perfect day for the beach, but I'm at home taking care of business. . .meaning chores.  3 loads of laundry, lots of hand washing of shirts that I wore the last days of the school year, recycling bottles and cans ($58) with the money going to a scholarship for a senior in the Class of 2010, starting to make plans for next year's Class of 2000 reunion (amazing how the time has passed), paying a few bills, and putting away the last of the party goods (ten boxes of outdoor lights that were used to brighten up the backyard).  Very productive for a change, and not spending any money doing it.

When the chores are done, then I will continue reading a great book, and work on a puzzle (750 pieces).  I will definitely need help with the puzzle. . .maybe I will call Kevin, Shao, and Kanya to come over and help out!

1347281157_1cb11b5028_m                 3554332215_41f047061f_m

2279194061_833106c539_m        Images from Flickr

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY. . .

. . .photo via FLICKR.

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VIEW FROM THE CROWN. . .

. . .After the terrorist attack of 9/11, the ability to walk up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty was suspended, but beginning tomorrow, under much security, the public will once again have access to the view from the crown.

A number of years ago, I traveled with my kids to see the sites of New York City.  Although I'm afraid of heights, sometimes unsteady on my feet, especially walking up long flights of stairs, certifiably claustrophobic, but not wanting to be a woosie, I braved the height and took my kids up to the top of the crown.  There was a steady stream of visitors, and no room to sit or even stop for a moment, and by the time we got to the crown, the area was narrow, there was barely any air, and I almost passed out.  Even though my kids were fairly young, they worried about Mom's ability to make it back down, but I sucked it up, made the best of it, and tried to sound like I was enthusiastic to view New York City from an amazing height.  Luckily, the crowd behind me didn't appear any more comfortable than myself, and the push from behind propelled us down rather quickly.  I was never more thankful to place my feet back on the ground, and was personally proud that I was adventurous enough to take the challenge of Ms. Liberty.

Will I go back up to the crown?  NEVER AGAIN, but everyone should have the experience of getting out of his or her comfort zone, and experiencing the greatness of the moment.  I remember thinking how profound the experience must have been to all the immigrants that came over the ocean to a new world, to a new beginning. 

As you well know, I love to travel through foreign countries and see how others live, work, and sometimes thrive, but whenever I return, I'm proud and grateful that I live not only in San Diego, the most beautiful of American cities, but also in a country that gives each citizen the opportunity to have a good life.

Viva la liberte!

Libertytopper

AWESOME MUSIC VIDEO. . .

. . ."No Turning Back," by Sarah Blasko.  Illustrated by Australian artist Celeste Potter.


CLASSIC JOHNNY DEPP. . .

. . .PUBLIC ENEMY,  at theaters today.