docoflove1974

With Mom in tow, yeah, prolly so. She has a tendency to rein us in!

Ah...me, my brother, and my mom No, all of us are out here in California, and it's the first trip to NYC for all of us. Mom and I haven't been to Boston before, but Matt happened to be there during 9/11; was stuck there in New England for about 10 days before he could fly out. We'll talk more later (the trip isn't until the end of July), but I think we could meet up on Tuesday after the game. You're right that we'll prolly be tired after the flight and game, but who cares...at the very least a 'guided tour' of NYC's finest would be in order! Yep, it's a baseball tour, but given our family, it sounds about right. This might be the one trip that would have gotten my grandmother on a flight! Alas, she's gone (well, that's a whole other story), but she'll be with us in flight...this is the same woman who saw Joe D. play in Washington Park when he was a kid!

Ok, that last picture was something else. You know the photographer took it just for kicks and grins, and then submitted it on a whim. I didn't know the old stiffs at BBC had it in them to post it!

Can't wait! I just know what my brother planned out...which is quite a haul: Monday night: fly in on a red-eye Tuesday: watch the 1pm game at Yankee Stadium Wednesday: tour Yankee Stadium, watch night game Thursday: drive up to Cooperstown to the Baseball Hall of Fame Friday: drive to Boston, watch a night game at Fenway Paaaak Saturday: fly home A whirlwind tour, to be sure, but we'll have to meet up at some point. That, and I have to find a way to come for a more leisurely trip...and to go to Shea Stadium

Eh, if there's a quake that big, either the floor above will come crashing down on my fridge, or by some sheer amount of luck all will be well. I would have the heifer and coop, but the city of San Jos

Oof...I must continue to educate the world. Southern Comfort is cheap bourbon mixed with corn syrup...it's nasty. Then again, Jack Daniels is sour mash...which is just a hair above moonshine. Both are evils which should be avoided.

This week was the shits. Absolutely one of the worst in my life. So, I made an appointment with Karma and we had a chat. It was a good airing out of grievances; I made it clear that her mechanations this week caused me to have a craptastic week, and she got a good laugh. But she promised that things will look up. I'd like to hold her on that, but seeing as how Karma is a wee bit fickle, and a bit of a bitch, I don't totally trust her. Her sister, Fate, is a lot nicer to me, although quite aloof and capricious. Anyway, to make sure that Karma and Fate were on my good side, I decided that being taking matters in my own hands would be a good thing. On my walk today (4.2 miles...shorter this time, but a new route), I signed up at a different gym, one which has better facilities and more of an active social calendar than the one I'm at now. Basically, it's a gym and a network/social hall all in one. Part Elks Lodge (minus the overbearing male atmosphere), part 24 Hour Fitness. It's more than I pay now, true, but the atmosphere is much better...the pool is great, which is what I want, and it's 5 blocks down the street...I have no excuse now. Ran errands...although Karma had fun with me again, making me late to the bank (so, no quarters...which means no doing laundry) and having the meter maids come 'round while I was dropping off my paperwork at the gym ($28...goddammit). But I've now made bread, and am about to make spaghetti gravy (I'm out...I can't believe it!). I'll work on grading later, and then will have a night in with the movies; The Last King of Scotland came in the mail via NetFlix the other day, and I want to watch it before I meet up with my brother tomorrow. Bella wants to play, which is always uplifting, although currently she wants to sit on my lap, and I'm about to go in the kitchen again. Things are looking better...they always do get better. The sun is shining again!

I don't tend to drink them...I do have some 8 oz cans of Coke, but those are used as mixers. I guess the only thing 'fizzy' in my fridge is beer...which, as I see it, is just good earthquake preparedness. After all, we must have foodstuffs at the ready!

I found this link in a recent edition of Language Educator, and perhaps this would be interesting to some of you. Latin crosswords

Thanks, Neph...I'll be going out there with my family for 2 days in July...gotta go to Yankee Stadium while this one's still up! I'll let you know as the days get closer, to see if we can set something up, k?

Nah...because you know that if someone pulls the pin, the grenades will go off. There's no way of knowing when the earth will move, and that's the fun part! (ok, not, but since we don't have control over it, why stress?)

While it is true that Spanish has an 'object case marker', I wouldn't consider its syntax like Latin at all. There is a radical break in the Romance languages from the Latin syntax: a lack of case markers, restricted word order, increased use of prepositions, reorganizing of some verb forms (future) and the creation of new, analytic forms, reduction of verbal aspect, and the loss of the third gender This is just in general, and there are various other observations which are made when comparing a specific Romance language to Latin. As for Italian grammar being Germanic-like...I wouldn't say that at all. Germanic languages (save English) are inflectional like Romance, but there is a complexity in the subordinate clauses (SOV word order, instead of SVO order in independent clauses) that doesn't exist. Also the employment of the subjunctive mood is radically different in Germanic than it is in Romance. Additionally, in most Germanic languages one leaves the verbal particle at the end of the sentence and not with the word; this cannot be done in any Romance language. Yes it is true that there was a perfect aspect which was developed in all Romance languages (not just Italian) which includes a form of habere, but in Italian this is not so much of a perfect aspect anymore, but it is used as a non-imperfect past tense, and also includes forms with essere with some verbs. This construction in the Romance languages replaces many of the elements that the Latin perfect had; in turn, the Latin perfect tended to track to the preterite/'remote past' form for the various Romance language, and while it kept its past tense, its aspect had changed from being perfective to punctual (in most cases). This compound past-tense form is something that evolved in many Indo-European languages, not only in Romance or Germanic, and there is no connection among the languages. So overall, I wouldn't say that Italian has much in common with the syntax of Germanic languages. If you want more information on the Romance languages as a whole, I'd highly recommend looking at the following 'handbooks'...while they may be older, they are definitively thorough. Elcock, W. D. 1960. The Romance Languages. London: Faber & Faber. Translated by. Meyer-L

Not if they have seniority...which is the case.

Non-alcoholic: water, min. water (with a lemon wedge), milk (a gallon a week!), tea (mostly green; can't really have caffeine anymore). Alcoholic: Gin (Bombay Sapphire), Rum, Bourbon (Maker's Mark), Scotch (Johnny Walker Gold or Green, usually) are all in my arsenal. Wine is a given...I will not drink anything oaky or really tannic, and tend to skew towards Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Rioja, and very floral ros

Originally I was set to teach a course in the summer, one which was meant to include local high school students. It was a great program--the thought is to include them on certain popular courses so that their transition to college (be it community college or a 4-year college) would be better. 6 weeks, and a collegiate course. It was going to be tough, but hell, I was up for the challenge! News just came down the pipe...the high school district just now realized that the high school students (who would be the bulk of the students) are at different preparation stages, depending on their schools, so they wouldn't all be ready for the course...that, and there was an issue with enough students taking their courses in the fall. So the course was cancelled. This puts me in a difficult position. One college that I'm associated with (the main one I work at) doesn't need anyone else; they barely fill the one Spanish course they offer for the summer. As of now, I got no other offers. Another college I have worked at doesn't make their summer schedule for a couple of weeks yet, so perhaps something will come about. If I get nothing, I'm seriously going to be short on funds; I'll have to pick up work elsewhere. I guess it's no big deal, just that I really hate being in limbo. I guess if there is a positive side, I don't have to teach an 8am class 4 days a week now!? (Gah, this has been a craptastic week.)

That is entirely possible. The period where 'Ancient Greek' was spoken 1000-500 BCE; 'Modern Greek' has been documented since 1500 CE. That is a much wider period of time in between the two linguistic epochs than that of Latin (Classical or otherwise) and Italian (and the other Romance languages).

Aw c'mon, that's no fun! I mean, everyone needs a sticky sweet shower after a big earthquake!

Eh, we Californians already knew all of this...they just keep refreshing the numbers so that we don't forget. But to be honest, we know that it's coming, and it's only a question of when...and if we'll be on the can at that time. Besides, it's time to shake things up around here! (Get it...shake things up! Earthquake! Ah, nevermind...)

On ramen! I've never thought of that! There's a new idea! I always put it in my burgers, before I put them on the fire--just a couple of dashes per burger. Salt and pepper, and that's it. Often I put it in my marinade for skirt steak or flank steak; on the tougher cuts, it just seems to add flavor where it's needed. Oh, when I do oven steak fries, I mix ketchup and a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce as my dip...quite tasty. I've used it also in Caesar salad dressing, when I didn't have anchovy. A little goes a long way!

I don't care what sport you follow, as a fan to be able to touch 'the trophy' after your team has won it...wow...what an amazing experience. That rocks! PS--Don't mention last night's performance...3 goals in the first 3:30, and then blubbery afterwards. Yeah yeah yeah, the Flames got a kick up their arse and started to play defense, but it just seemed like the Sharks used up most of their energy in that first 3:30. I was not happy last night...it threatened to ruin a good weekend. *pout*

Actually, I quite love worcestershire sauce and the flavor that it imparts on food. And I do know how it's made! (I even made my own once...it came out fine, but it was a pain in the arse to get all the ingredients.)

Yep, that's pretty much what kills it for me. Then again, one can't be an adventurous eater if one thinks too much about the ingredients!

Ok, IF my Sharks don't make it, this is the match-up I'd like to see as an alternative. There is something special about an Original Six match-up, you're right. And it's been a while since the Habs have been that good, right? (I admit, I've only been watching hockey actively for about 6 years...at all for about 10.)

Field Hockey is nothing like Ice Hockey...for one, the skates are more dangerous

Oy, some of us knew what cider was...and drink it regularly! (I'm partial to Wyder's Apple or Pear Cider)