This blog belongs to my friend's husband, and it has a lot of funny articles. Lots of good recipes, too. Here's a sample:
Border Guard
This entry tells of an experience my friends had when they decided one day to rent a car and drive into the US to do some shopping. This is part of the exchange between the husband and the border guard.
""What are you going to do in the US?"
"Drive around a bit, go shopping"
"So you rented a car, drove all the way from Toronto, just to drive around here? You realize you're entering a foreign country?..."
Monday, July 30, 2007
Shameless Promotion for The Shutter
This kind of film begs a second viewing, as many of the setup elements are cleverly disguised as background color, and don't really attract attention to themselves -- in fact, one of the major plot elements turns out to be a gigantic maguffin that ultimately has nothing to do with the real story...
-a review from Bloody-Disgusting.com
-a review from Bloody-Disgusting.com
July Highlights and Lowlights Part 2
This summer, the Gang isn't going anywhere for vacation because Thai and Cat have to save up money for their wedding next year. *YAY! Congrats!* Instead, we rented my colleague's cottage in Coboconk.
We went on the weekend of July 21st, for 2 nights and 2 days. The drive there took about 2.5 hours, but could have been less if there wasn't the traffic jam, and probably if they (Thai and Eddie) had stuck to the directions given by Beth. Anyhow, by the time we got there, it was 10pm. It was dark, and the signs were hard to read. Because there are no street lights on the cottage roads, we had to rely on the car's headlights. When we saw the number to Beth's cottage, we started to drive into what we thought was the front yard. We stopped, however, because there was actually a swamp in front of us. We backed out and kept going on the road to see if there was another entrance, and sure enough there was. We got out of the car, went around the back and saw the backyard patio deck, and it was gorgeous even in the dark. We couldn't wait for morning to come so that we could actually go outside use the patio deck.
That night, as we unpacked, Cat cooked some noodles and wontons for us for snack. Some people were worried about the quality of the water, and that was a funny story. Beth left me a note that says I have to switch on the water pump. I went to the wrong switch, and after thinking that I had turned it on, there still was no water. Finally, after speaking with Beth on the phone, I figured out which switch it was, and the water started flowing from the taps. I had to convince everyone that the water was clean and not stinky like at the first cottage we went to years ago in Cobourg. It turned out the water was fine and nobody complained about it after the first night. We were all dead tired, so we went to bed early.
The next morning, we a simple breakfast, and after I made sandwiches for lunch, the gang went out on the fishing boat. This was the weekend before the workshop presentation for summer school, so I had to bring some work with me to the cottage to work on. I brought my laptop with me, and on Saturday morning I worked on the presentation script and my article reflection. After lunch, they all came back early, to my surprise. Eddie had a scowl on his face because everyone else couldn't hold it on the boat and had to come back to use the facilities. LOL!! In the afternoon, they convinced me to go out on the pedal boat.
Cat, Clare and I went out on the pedal boat while Thai and Eddie got back in the fishing boat for more fishing. The lake was beautiful, and the water was very clean. We went around the cape and saw two small islands, which we agreed to set as our goal. When we got there, we realized we couldn't dock because there were too many rocks underneath, and we were afraid of lodging ourselves between a crack somewhere, so be back pedalled and to return home. On our return, we were pedalling against the current, and it felt like we weren't going anywhere despite the fact that we were pedalling a lot harder than before. That gave us a good laugh. We got went the wrong way the first time and entered the wrong inlet. We had to come back out and look for the other inlet, which we found easily because the other two girls recognized a Canadian flag on a cottage by the shore. We approached it and saw our inlet. By that time, we were tired so we took a break.
That evening, we had a BBQ for dinner, after the three of us took a nice nap. It was funny because after going out on the pedal-boat plus taking a nap, it was still only 3:30. Time went by so slowly! After getting up from our nap, we started preparing the food for the BBQ as well as the pasta for tomorrow's lunch. That night, the BBQ was great. After dinner, after cleaning up, we played a bit of Wii, and then we watched the horror movie called The Shutter, a Thailand production. Thai and Eddie were thoroughly scared (muahahaha!). Mission accomplished! After that, we had some dessert and went to bed.
The next morning, Thai made us pancakes while I made sausages and fried eggs. I'm not very good at frying eggs and sausages at the same time, so I had to do one thing at a time. It took me an hour! Fortunately nobody complained. After breakfast, I prepared the cucumber salad and the pasta salad for lunch. When that was done, we decided to go for a short hike. After we put on our sunblock and started up the main road, we realized that we could actually go hiking at the Scarborough Bluffs. So, we returned to the cottage again and started packing up. This itself took an hour and a half. By the time we were done, we decided to just leave for the Scarborough Bluffs.
It was a wonderful experience.
We went on the weekend of July 21st, for 2 nights and 2 days. The drive there took about 2.5 hours, but could have been less if there wasn't the traffic jam, and probably if they (Thai and Eddie) had stuck to the directions given by Beth. Anyhow, by the time we got there, it was 10pm. It was dark, and the signs were hard to read. Because there are no street lights on the cottage roads, we had to rely on the car's headlights. When we saw the number to Beth's cottage, we started to drive into what we thought was the front yard. We stopped, however, because there was actually a swamp in front of us. We backed out and kept going on the road to see if there was another entrance, and sure enough there was. We got out of the car, went around the back and saw the backyard patio deck, and it was gorgeous even in the dark. We couldn't wait for morning to come so that we could actually go outside use the patio deck.
That night, as we unpacked, Cat cooked some noodles and wontons for us for snack. Some people were worried about the quality of the water, and that was a funny story. Beth left me a note that says I have to switch on the water pump. I went to the wrong switch, and after thinking that I had turned it on, there still was no water. Finally, after speaking with Beth on the phone, I figured out which switch it was, and the water started flowing from the taps. I had to convince everyone that the water was clean and not stinky like at the first cottage we went to years ago in Cobourg. It turned out the water was fine and nobody complained about it after the first night. We were all dead tired, so we went to bed early.
The next morning, we a simple breakfast, and after I made sandwiches for lunch, the gang went out on the fishing boat. This was the weekend before the workshop presentation for summer school, so I had to bring some work with me to the cottage to work on. I brought my laptop with me, and on Saturday morning I worked on the presentation script and my article reflection. After lunch, they all came back early, to my surprise. Eddie had a scowl on his face because everyone else couldn't hold it on the boat and had to come back to use the facilities. LOL!! In the afternoon, they convinced me to go out on the pedal boat.
Cat, Clare and I went out on the pedal boat while Thai and Eddie got back in the fishing boat for more fishing. The lake was beautiful, and the water was very clean. We went around the cape and saw two small islands, which we agreed to set as our goal. When we got there, we realized we couldn't dock because there were too many rocks underneath, and we were afraid of lodging ourselves between a crack somewhere, so be back pedalled and to return home. On our return, we were pedalling against the current, and it felt like we weren't going anywhere despite the fact that we were pedalling a lot harder than before. That gave us a good laugh. We got went the wrong way the first time and entered the wrong inlet. We had to come back out and look for the other inlet, which we found easily because the other two girls recognized a Canadian flag on a cottage by the shore. We approached it and saw our inlet. By that time, we were tired so we took a break.
That evening, we had a BBQ for dinner, after the three of us took a nice nap. It was funny because after going out on the pedal-boat plus taking a nap, it was still only 3:30. Time went by so slowly! After getting up from our nap, we started preparing the food for the BBQ as well as the pasta for tomorrow's lunch. That night, the BBQ was great. After dinner, after cleaning up, we played a bit of Wii, and then we watched the horror movie called The Shutter, a Thailand production. Thai and Eddie were thoroughly scared (muahahaha!). Mission accomplished! After that, we had some dessert and went to bed.
The next morning, Thai made us pancakes while I made sausages and fried eggs. I'm not very good at frying eggs and sausages at the same time, so I had to do one thing at a time. It took me an hour! Fortunately nobody complained. After breakfast, I prepared the cucumber salad and the pasta salad for lunch. When that was done, we decided to go for a short hike. After we put on our sunblock and started up the main road, we realized that we could actually go hiking at the Scarborough Bluffs. So, we returned to the cottage again and started packing up. This itself took an hour and a half. By the time we were done, we decided to just leave for the Scarborough Bluffs.
It was a wonderful experience.
July Highlights and Lowlights
Summer school is over. =D =D
July happened so fast I can't even remember much of it. So here it goes...
Summer School
I saw my friends from last year again, Sherrie and Peter. Later, while talking to the instructor, I learned that many of my classmates from ESL Part 2 last summer had taken the Winter course. I heard they were quite a handful as well, LOL!
I met two new friends this summer, and their names are Jung and Michelle. Jung is a Korean immigrant who came to Canada and first arrived in one of the prairie provinces. Imagine that, your first winter in Canada and you have to suffer it on the prairie. Brrr...Jung is a high school teacher for the Peel Board, and she is a very organized person. She had to put up with Sherrie and me for the last two weeks of the course as we prepared our final major workshop. Michelle also works for the Peel Board, but as an elementary/junior teacher. She is soft-spoken, but very funny. Both Jung and Michelle were such wonderful people to work with.
Everyday after class, we went to Jung's condo to work on the presentation. We would stay there until about 10pm at night, then go home to sleep, and wake up 5 hours later to go to class. This happened for two weeks!! During this time, I only had dinner with my parents once, and that was because we were taking the in-laws out to dinner.
Sherrie, Jung and I really learned a lot from this project. For one, we learned about a lot of the dominant theories that currently back-up the ESL programs throughout North America. Secondly, we also learned about advocacy and how that is so important for our ESL students. And last but not least, we learned about how to do professional presentations. We owe a lot to our instructor, Karen, who instilled in each of us the confidence to go and stand in front of 21 of our colleagues and teach them about Academic Language Learning Strategies (A.L.L.S.). This was hard work and it was also nerve-wracking. So much preparation went into problem-anticipation and solution alone. That was one of the most exhausting aspects, to anticipate what problems we might have with the content of the workshop, the delivery, and then the other miscellaneous things that could make or break your whole workshop, depending on how well you prepared yourself for them. The stress was magnified by the fact that we only had 2 weeks to plan this workshop, plus do all the research to gather information.
Sherrie joked at the beginning that we would do so well that by next spring, we'd be invited to present our workshop at the Celebrating Linguistic Diversity conference at OISE/University of Toronto. Soon, that wasn't just a joke, but rather a motivational incentive. In the end, we felt very good about our presentation. Our grade wasn't stellar, but that was because our instructor and the evaluator were looking for opposite things in the criteria. That's okay, though, because really, it's the process of creating and delivering a workshop that counts. I never saw myself as someone who is capable of doing something like this, and now I've done it.
On the morning of the workshop, we arrived at the classroom and realized that there was no electrical outlet near the front of the classroom where the screen was. In our foolishness, we chose not to re-check the room the day before. We were stuck because we didn't bring an extension cord. Jung came up with the bright idea of using the television stand as the extension cord. It worked, but not very well since there was a cord stretching across one corner of the room. During my initial speech, I got caught inside that corner.
The next problem we experienced was a major one: more than half of our audience was late. We can't afford to wait longer than five minutes, but then that means there would be people trickling in during our presentation. That was very annoying and unprofessional on their part. Even though they didn't have class that day with their own instructor, they had a workshop that they signed up for. They should have arrived on time and treat the workshop with the same level of importance as a class. This created so much unnecessary stress for us.
I had one blackout moment in the middle of the presentation where I got tongue tied because I was so nervous about having the blackout. Instead of taking a deep breath like Karen had instructed us to do, I got anxious and tongue-tied.
In the end, we got some very good reviews by the students.
I feel most grateful to Karen, who prepared us so well for the workshop that we were able to go into it with confidence and conviction.
Now that summer school is over, I'm going to get working on prepping my courses! *YAY* (sarcastic).
July happened so fast I can't even remember much of it. So here it goes...
Summer School
I saw my friends from last year again, Sherrie and Peter. Later, while talking to the instructor, I learned that many of my classmates from ESL Part 2 last summer had taken the Winter course. I heard they were quite a handful as well, LOL!
I met two new friends this summer, and their names are Jung and Michelle. Jung is a Korean immigrant who came to Canada and first arrived in one of the prairie provinces. Imagine that, your first winter in Canada and you have to suffer it on the prairie. Brrr...Jung is a high school teacher for the Peel Board, and she is a very organized person. She had to put up with Sherrie and me for the last two weeks of the course as we prepared our final major workshop. Michelle also works for the Peel Board, but as an elementary/junior teacher. She is soft-spoken, but very funny. Both Jung and Michelle were such wonderful people to work with.
Everyday after class, we went to Jung's condo to work on the presentation. We would stay there until about 10pm at night, then go home to sleep, and wake up 5 hours later to go to class. This happened for two weeks!! During this time, I only had dinner with my parents once, and that was because we were taking the in-laws out to dinner.
Sherrie, Jung and I really learned a lot from this project. For one, we learned about a lot of the dominant theories that currently back-up the ESL programs throughout North America. Secondly, we also learned about advocacy and how that is so important for our ESL students. And last but not least, we learned about how to do professional presentations. We owe a lot to our instructor, Karen, who instilled in each of us the confidence to go and stand in front of 21 of our colleagues and teach them about Academic Language Learning Strategies (A.L.L.S.). This was hard work and it was also nerve-wracking. So much preparation went into problem-anticipation and solution alone. That was one of the most exhausting aspects, to anticipate what problems we might have with the content of the workshop, the delivery, and then the other miscellaneous things that could make or break your whole workshop, depending on how well you prepared yourself for them. The stress was magnified by the fact that we only had 2 weeks to plan this workshop, plus do all the research to gather information.
Sherrie joked at the beginning that we would do so well that by next spring, we'd be invited to present our workshop at the Celebrating Linguistic Diversity conference at OISE/University of Toronto. Soon, that wasn't just a joke, but rather a motivational incentive. In the end, we felt very good about our presentation. Our grade wasn't stellar, but that was because our instructor and the evaluator were looking for opposite things in the criteria. That's okay, though, because really, it's the process of creating and delivering a workshop that counts. I never saw myself as someone who is capable of doing something like this, and now I've done it.
On the morning of the workshop, we arrived at the classroom and realized that there was no electrical outlet near the front of the classroom where the screen was. In our foolishness, we chose not to re-check the room the day before. We were stuck because we didn't bring an extension cord. Jung came up with the bright idea of using the television stand as the extension cord. It worked, but not very well since there was a cord stretching across one corner of the room. During my initial speech, I got caught inside that corner.
The next problem we experienced was a major one: more than half of our audience was late. We can't afford to wait longer than five minutes, but then that means there would be people trickling in during our presentation. That was very annoying and unprofessional on their part. Even though they didn't have class that day with their own instructor, they had a workshop that they signed up for. They should have arrived on time and treat the workshop with the same level of importance as a class. This created so much unnecessary stress for us.
I had one blackout moment in the middle of the presentation where I got tongue tied because I was so nervous about having the blackout. Instead of taking a deep breath like Karen had instructed us to do, I got anxious and tongue-tied.
In the end, we got some very good reviews by the students.
I feel most grateful to Karen, who prepared us so well for the workshop that we were able to go into it with confidence and conviction.
Now that summer school is over, I'm going to get working on prepping my courses! *YAY* (sarcastic).
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Ideas for Frankenstein, ESLBO
A Chemistry Lesson--Tools in a chemistry lab
1. Bunsen burner http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jkn/Chem%20151%20Manual%20Intro1&2_files/image030.jpg
2. Test tube http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/images/strawb2.jpg
3. Flask http://science.csustan.edu/JTB/LABWARE/LAB-GIFS/Florence-flask.gif
4. Shake flask http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0533e/T0533E12.gif
5. Clamp http://www.biologicalprocedures.com/bpo/arts/1/52/m52f4sm.gif
6. Graduated cylinder http://science.csustan.edu/JTB/LABWARE/LAB-GIFS/Graduated-cylinder.gif
7. Beaker http://core.ecu.edu/chem/chemlab/equipment/images/beaker.jpg
8. Funnel http://core.ecu.edu/chem/chemlab/equipment/images/funnel.jpg
Geography
1. Map of Switzerland http://www.european-vacations.tv/images/maps/switzerland-map.gif
2. Wuertenberg, Germany http://www.yorku.ca/ontbw/img/bw-map.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/KgrWuerttemberg.png/464px-KgrWuerttemberg.png
3. Ingolstadt, Bavaria, GEM http://www.itcwebdesigns.com/tour_germany/oberbay.gif
http://www.coletta.de/kolonien/Koenigreich%20Bayern%201914%20+.jpg
4. Mont Blanc http://www.ski-montblanc.com/IMAGES/UltraTrailTourMontBlanc.jpg
5. Map of France and Chamonix (X) http://www.martynhicks.co.uk/personal/pics/chamonix/francemap3.jpg
6. Mer de Glace glacier, France http://www.answers.com/topic/mer-de-glace
Students can make a travel brochure for these cities or countries.
1. Bunsen burner http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jkn/Chem%20151%20Manual%20Intro1&2_files/image030.jpg
2. Test tube http://sps.k12.ar.us/massengale/images/strawb2.jpg
3. Flask http://science.csustan.edu/JTB/LABWARE/LAB-GIFS/Florence-flask.gif
4. Shake flask http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0533e/T0533E12.gif
5. Clamp http://www.biologicalprocedures.com/bpo/arts/1/52/m52f4sm.gif
6. Graduated cylinder http://science.csustan.edu/JTB/LABWARE/LAB-GIFS/Graduated-cylinder.gif
7. Beaker http://core.ecu.edu/chem/chemlab/equipment/images/beaker.jpg
8. Funnel http://core.ecu.edu/chem/chemlab/equipment/images/funnel.jpg
Geography
1. Map of Switzerland http://www.european-vacations.tv/images/maps/switzerland-map.gif
2. Wuertenberg, Germany http://www.yorku.ca/ontbw/img/bw-map.gif
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/KgrWuerttemberg.png/464px-KgrWuerttemberg.png
3. Ingolstadt, Bavaria, GEM http://www.itcwebdesigns.com/tour_germany/oberbay.gif
http://www.coletta.de/kolonien/Koenigreich%20Bayern%201914%20+.jpg
4. Mont Blanc http://www.ski-montblanc.com/IMAGES/UltraTrailTourMontBlanc.jpg
5. Map of France and Chamonix (X) http://www.martynhicks.co.uk/personal/pics/chamonix/francemap3.jpg
6. Mer de Glace glacier, France http://www.answers.com/topic/mer-de-glace
Students can make a travel brochure for these cities or countries.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Updates from June
Highlights:
1. I celebrated my birthday one week early with the Gang. They surprised me by taking me to dinner at Saigon Star. That's when I discovered that Saigon Star had been renovated, and now it looks just like all the other Asian fusion restaurants, like Spring Rolls and Asian Legend. That's not a bad thing, except they changed their menu, too! All the former authentic Vietnamese dishes have all been expunged to make the menu more presentable and easier to read. That means that there's a lot less variety to choose from now.
After dinner, we went to see a movie, Shrek 3. The reviews weren't all that positive, and at the end, some of the Gang said it was quite boring, and I have to admit, the beginning was a bit boring. But, it was still very funny the rest of the way. I liked it and that's what matters most! =P
Then we went to have dessert at Kelseys. We ordered some finger foods and then two apple crumbles a la mode. The waiter even put two candles on it, the sparkly kind when it burns. It was so pretty! For gifts, I got a $50 dollar gift card from T&Ca, and then I got an elegant chrome watch by Guess from Cl. and D.
It was a fantabulous night!
2. On Friday afternoon, I went downtown to the World's Biggest Bookstore to buy a textbook for my summer school course. While riding the subway, I was reading Speaker for the Dead, the 2nd novel in the Ender Trilogy by Orson Scott Card. A stranger sitting across from me interrupted me to ask me if I liked the sequel, b/c he apparently doesn't think sequels are any good. I told him he should try it b/c in some ways, it's just as good as Ender's Game. Some ways.
He went on to tell me about the books he likes, and then I asked him his opinion on Robert Sawyer. Surprisingly, this stranger doesn't think very highly of Sawyer either. He was trying very hard to say that Sawyer is a self-obsessed, self-gratifying and self-promoting writer, but he couldn't say it. I could guess though b/c that's how I found Sawyer as well when I met him. The Stranger said that Sawyer believes he's a much better writer than he is. A lot of his ideas aren't that original. I TOTALLY AGREE!
Anyway, I thought that was so weird how I bumped into a total stranger who also doesn't like Sawyer. To be fair, I only met Sawyer once, and I haven't read any of his novels, only heard and read excerpts. But, the thing that is strange is that I don't feel like I want to read any of his books, especially after having met the writer and have heard the writer read live. This is very unusual b/c what has happened in the past is that when I meet a writer and I listen to him/her read live, the experience is so special and magical that I get sucked into the hype. This time, it was totally the opposite. Could you believe that?
How sad.
3. On Friday night, my mum had to go to her friend's house to help out with preparing the food for the next day's BBQ. My dad drove her, so I was stuck with babysitting Steph. She was okay at first, but then she realized that my parents were gone, and so she started to cry. I asked her if she wanted cookies, and she said no. Then I asked her if she wanted milk, and she said yes. So, I gave her the heated milk and I was hoping she would fall asleep after that. Boy was I wrong!
She wasn't feeling secure enough to fall asleep without my parents at home, so she sat up watching TV. Then she wanted to have cookies, so I gave her the cookies so that she won't start crying again. She had the cookies, and then went back to watching TV. A while later, she wanted to get out of bed and go look for my parents. I wouldn't let her b/c then she'll start crying again. But, she cried anyway. As I was helping her out of the bed, she vomited on me and the blanket! EW!!
I remained very calm, though. I was very surprised with myself. I took the blanket off the bed, put our clothes into the washer, and washed all the sheets. I didn't get to bed until 1:30 am. My parents came home in the meantime, and my mum was not pleased. She glared at Steph and the toddler almost started to cry again.
4. Finally, on my birthday, I stayed at home and filed. I have to file my stuff right away and organize everything, otherwise, I won't feel like doing it any more in the future.
1. I celebrated my birthday one week early with the Gang. They surprised me by taking me to dinner at Saigon Star. That's when I discovered that Saigon Star had been renovated, and now it looks just like all the other Asian fusion restaurants, like Spring Rolls and Asian Legend. That's not a bad thing, except they changed their menu, too! All the former authentic Vietnamese dishes have all been expunged to make the menu more presentable and easier to read. That means that there's a lot less variety to choose from now.
After dinner, we went to see a movie, Shrek 3. The reviews weren't all that positive, and at the end, some of the Gang said it was quite boring, and I have to admit, the beginning was a bit boring. But, it was still very funny the rest of the way. I liked it and that's what matters most! =P
Then we went to have dessert at Kelseys. We ordered some finger foods and then two apple crumbles a la mode. The waiter even put two candles on it, the sparkly kind when it burns. It was so pretty! For gifts, I got a $50 dollar gift card from T&Ca, and then I got an elegant chrome watch by Guess from Cl. and D.
It was a fantabulous night!
2. On Friday afternoon, I went downtown to the World's Biggest Bookstore to buy a textbook for my summer school course. While riding the subway, I was reading Speaker for the Dead, the 2nd novel in the Ender Trilogy by Orson Scott Card. A stranger sitting across from me interrupted me to ask me if I liked the sequel, b/c he apparently doesn't think sequels are any good. I told him he should try it b/c in some ways, it's just as good as Ender's Game. Some ways.
He went on to tell me about the books he likes, and then I asked him his opinion on Robert Sawyer. Surprisingly, this stranger doesn't think very highly of Sawyer either. He was trying very hard to say that Sawyer is a self-obsessed, self-gratifying and self-promoting writer, but he couldn't say it. I could guess though b/c that's how I found Sawyer as well when I met him. The Stranger said that Sawyer believes he's a much better writer than he is. A lot of his ideas aren't that original. I TOTALLY AGREE!
Anyway, I thought that was so weird how I bumped into a total stranger who also doesn't like Sawyer. To be fair, I only met Sawyer once, and I haven't read any of his novels, only heard and read excerpts. But, the thing that is strange is that I don't feel like I want to read any of his books, especially after having met the writer and have heard the writer read live. This is very unusual b/c what has happened in the past is that when I meet a writer and I listen to him/her read live, the experience is so special and magical that I get sucked into the hype. This time, it was totally the opposite. Could you believe that?
How sad.
3. On Friday night, my mum had to go to her friend's house to help out with preparing the food for the next day's BBQ. My dad drove her, so I was stuck with babysitting Steph. She was okay at first, but then she realized that my parents were gone, and so she started to cry. I asked her if she wanted cookies, and she said no. Then I asked her if she wanted milk, and she said yes. So, I gave her the heated milk and I was hoping she would fall asleep after that. Boy was I wrong!
She wasn't feeling secure enough to fall asleep without my parents at home, so she sat up watching TV. Then she wanted to have cookies, so I gave her the cookies so that she won't start crying again. She had the cookies, and then went back to watching TV. A while later, she wanted to get out of bed and go look for my parents. I wouldn't let her b/c then she'll start crying again. But, she cried anyway. As I was helping her out of the bed, she vomited on me and the blanket! EW!!
I remained very calm, though. I was very surprised with myself. I took the blanket off the bed, put our clothes into the washer, and washed all the sheets. I didn't get to bed until 1:30 am. My parents came home in the meantime, and my mum was not pleased. She glared at Steph and the toddler almost started to cry again.
4. Finally, on my birthday, I stayed at home and filed. I have to file my stuff right away and organize everything, otherwise, I won't feel like doing it any more in the future.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Researching Aboriginal Canadian Myths and Legends
Tourism Victoria--with info on the Sasquatch, the Cadborosaurus, and a mermaid.
CanTeach.ca--a webportal to many sites
Native American Mythology--at Encyclopeadia Mythica
Turtle Island Native Network
CanTeach.ca--a webportal to many sites
Native American Mythology--at Encyclopeadia Mythica
Turtle Island Native Network
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Importance of the Wild Hunt
"[...]a phantasmal group of huntsmen with the accoutrements of hunting, horses, hounds, etc., in mad pursuit across the skies or along the ground, or just above it.[1] The hunters may be the dead, or the fairies (often in folklore connected with the dead).[2]"
- Wikipedia
"[...]the Hunt was placed in the Tapestry to be wild in the truest sense, to lay down an uncontrolled thread for the freedom of the Children who came after. And so did the Weaver lay a constraint upon himself, that not even he, shuttling at the Loom of the Worlds, may preordain the shape exactly what is to be. [...] we have such choices as we have, some freedom to shape our own destinies, because of that wild thread of Owin and the Hunt slipping across the Loom, warp and then weft, in turn and at times."
- The Darkest Road, 102
This is why The Wild Hunt is so important to the world in the Fionavar Tapestry. I would also compare it to the pomegranate tree in the Book of Genesis. Both of them make it possible for humans to make our own choices. The pomegranate tree, however, is bad for us. The Wild Hunt could be both good and bad.
- Wikipedia
"[...]the Hunt was placed in the Tapestry to be wild in the truest sense, to lay down an uncontrolled thread for the freedom of the Children who came after. And so did the Weaver lay a constraint upon himself, that not even he, shuttling at the Loom of the Worlds, may preordain the shape exactly what is to be. [...] we have such choices as we have, some freedom to shape our own destinies, because of that wild thread of Owin and the Hunt slipping across the Loom, warp and then weft, in turn and at times."
- The Darkest Road, 102
This is why The Wild Hunt is so important to the world in the Fionavar Tapestry. I would also compare it to the pomegranate tree in the Book of Genesis. Both of them make it possible for humans to make our own choices. The pomegranate tree, however, is bad for us. The Wild Hunt could be both good and bad.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Understanding the World of Fionavar
"And on the north wind there came then the triumphant laughter of the first and falledn god, who was coming down on them like a hammer bringing fire, bringing war" (The Summer Tree, 166)
I never caught this part of the story on the previous readings, and I always wondered why Rakoth Maugrim was so powerful? Why did vanquishing his forces meant that he would be beaten down and incapacitated? Here was my answer this whole time.
Rakoth Maugrim wasn't just one of the gods who turned evil and corrupt, but he was the first god of all the gods. That's why he's so powerful, such that he has the power to create and to unravel. That's why he's called the unraveller.
When the Bael Rangat war ended, the humans and lios alfar had a lot of help from the other gods. It was Mornir, the god of Thunder, who gave power to the magi to helm their own magic, independent from the wild magic of Mother Earth, Dana. From that release Amairgen Whitebranch was able to bind himself to a human source, Lisen of the Wood. From the magic that they created, the humans had a chance. And in the end, they won the war. They were able to bind Rakoth Maugrim to the mountain, Rangat.
Rakoth Maugrim is invisible until he regained so much of his strength that he was able to materialize as flames and smoke. Otherwise, we can only see him through the people and creatures who work his will and carry out the heinous atrocities under his direction. When all of his carnal subjects were destroyed at the end of The Darkest Road, that stripped Rakoth Maugrim of his powers.
I never caught this part of the story on the previous readings, and I always wondered why Rakoth Maugrim was so powerful? Why did vanquishing his forces meant that he would be beaten down and incapacitated? Here was my answer this whole time.
Rakoth Maugrim wasn't just one of the gods who turned evil and corrupt, but he was the first god of all the gods. That's why he's so powerful, such that he has the power to create and to unravel. That's why he's called the unraveller.
When the Bael Rangat war ended, the humans and lios alfar had a lot of help from the other gods. It was Mornir, the god of Thunder, who gave power to the magi to helm their own magic, independent from the wild magic of Mother Earth, Dana. From that release Amairgen Whitebranch was able to bind himself to a human source, Lisen of the Wood. From the magic that they created, the humans had a chance. And in the end, they won the war. They were able to bind Rakoth Maugrim to the mountain, Rangat.
Rakoth Maugrim is invisible until he regained so much of his strength that he was able to materialize as flames and smoke. Otherwise, we can only see him through the people and creatures who work his will and carry out the heinous atrocities under his direction. When all of his carnal subjects were destroyed at the end of The Darkest Road, that stripped Rakoth Maugrim of his powers.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Learning about Islam Part 3
Learning about Islam Part 2
Sources:
Same as the previous post.
Important points and passages:
"The roots of their division can be traced back centuries. When the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, two groups couldn't agree on who would be his successor. The group now known as Sunni believed the new leader (or caliph) should be Abu Bakr (who led from 632-634). The group known as Shia believed Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali (who led from 656-661), was the rightful successor to the Prophet and that Sunnis usurped Ali's rightful leadership."
-Why should the Prophet Muhammad have a successor to begin with? Isn't he made a prophet by God, and not the people? Why did the people feel that they had any say in who "succeeds" the Prophet Muhammad?
" Al Wahhab advocated another of Taymiya's more controversial tenets - that some self-declared Muslims were really unbelievers and it was the duty of orthodox Muslims to conduct jihad against them.
In Taymiya's time, it was Mongol invaders. For al Wahhad and bin Saud, it was the Ottoman Empire, which ruled most of the Arabian peninsula. Bin Saud believed that his campaign to bring pure Islam to the Arabian peninsula justified his wars with other Muslims. "
- The CBC website also says that for modern Muslims, this jihad is of a personal nature whereby individuals have to wage their own struggle between harmonizing their faith with their modern lifestyles.
- This might be especially true for Muslims who are living in the West and are raised on Western beliefs and customs
" In 1932, the kingdom of Saudia Arabia was established."
- The history if worthy of more exploration.
I am particularly interested in the history section of the BBC website. It includes the following topics:
Same as the previous post.
Important points and passages:
"The roots of their division can be traced back centuries. When the Prophet Muhammad died in 632, two groups couldn't agree on who would be his successor. The group now known as Sunni believed the new leader (or caliph) should be Abu Bakr (who led from 632-634). The group known as Shia believed Muhammad's son-in-law, Ali (who led from 656-661), was the rightful successor to the Prophet and that Sunnis usurped Ali's rightful leadership."
-Why should the Prophet Muhammad have a successor to begin with? Isn't he made a prophet by God, and not the people? Why did the people feel that they had any say in who "succeeds" the Prophet Muhammad?
" Al Wahhab advocated another of Taymiya's more controversial tenets - that some self-declared Muslims were really unbelievers and it was the duty of orthodox Muslims to conduct jihad against them.
In Taymiya's time, it was Mongol invaders. For al Wahhad and bin Saud, it was the Ottoman Empire, which ruled most of the Arabian peninsula. Bin Saud believed that his campaign to bring pure Islam to the Arabian peninsula justified his wars with other Muslims. "
- The CBC website also says that for modern Muslims, this jihad is of a personal nature whereby individuals have to wage their own struggle between harmonizing their faith with their modern lifestyles.
- This might be especially true for Muslims who are living in the West and are raised on Western beliefs and customs
" In 1932, the kingdom of Saudia Arabia was established."
- The history if worthy of more exploration.
I am particularly interested in the history section of the BBC website. It includes the following topics:
- Ibrahim - the Muslim view of Abraham
- Musa - the Muslim view of Moses
- Prophet Muhammad (570-632)
- Early rise of Islam (632-700)
- Islam in China (650-present)
- Muslim Spain (711-1492)
- Ottoman Empire (1301-1922)
- Mughal Empire (1500s, 1600s)
- Safavid Empire (1501-1722)
- Islam in the UK (1500s-present)
- Slavery in Islam
Learning about Islam
Resources
CBC Indepth
BBC Religion and Ethics: Islam
Important passages for further exploration:
"Islam's deep intellectual tradition may be seen in classic styles of Islamic expression, including maraboutism in Morocco (a saint-centred system of ruler-worship emphasizing Sufism), and the Shi'ite scholarly tradition in the Middle East."
" The history of Islam cannot be separated from the history of Islamic society. Throughout history Islam created political institutions such as the caliphate and the sultanate. But these institutions were eventually challenged as observers watched political revolution take hold in the dominant colonial Western countries.
This erosion is at the root of the political and social turmoil plaguing the Islamic world today."
"Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous, and the practice of polygamy is usually dicated by economic factors and the insistence of Islam to integrate all members of society into a family structure."
The above was all taken from the CBC website.
CBC Indepth
BBC Religion and Ethics: Islam
Important passages for further exploration:
"Islam's deep intellectual tradition may be seen in classic styles of Islamic expression, including maraboutism in Morocco (a saint-centred system of ruler-worship emphasizing Sufism), and the Shi'ite scholarly tradition in the Middle East."
" The history of Islam cannot be separated from the history of Islamic society. Throughout history Islam created political institutions such as the caliphate and the sultanate. But these institutions were eventually challenged as observers watched political revolution take hold in the dominant colonial Western countries.
This erosion is at the root of the political and social turmoil plaguing the Islamic world today."
"Most families in the Islamic world are monogamous, and the practice of polygamy is usually dicated by economic factors and the insistence of Islam to integrate all members of society into a family structure."
The above was all taken from the CBC website.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
What Kind of Reader Am I?
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two. | |
| Book Snob | |
| Dedicated Reader | |
| Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm | |
| Fad Reader | |
| Non-Reader | |
| What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz | |
Thanks to Grace Granger for recommending this quiz.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
The Horse and His Boy, Book 3 in the Chronicles of Narnia
Okay, I just finished reading The Horse and His Boy (HHB) this morning. Bree is so delightfully annoying. He is so full of himself it's absurd! At the same time that I want to smack some sense into him, I also feel like I want to pat him on the back and tell him it's okay to feel inadequate. Most everyone is inadequate and very very few of us are great. Bree just has to get adjusted to the different surroundings and the different animals.
And contrary to my prediction about Bree and Hwin, they don't end up marrying one another. I find it truly hiliarious that Lewis would actually wrap up their story and explain what happened to these horses later on, and point out that they don't end up marrying one another, although they remain good friends. Isn't that just so hilarious? I think so.
I was keeping track of all the topics that I can write essays about. I know there must already be a lot of essays written about these topics, but instead of just passively reading other people's essays, I'd like to write some of my own. Before I do so, however, I'd have to do some more research and take notes. I'll use my blog as my notebook.
Topics:
1. Narrative Style - Lewis tells the story like he's a grandfather telling stories to his grandchildren. At some points in the story, it mentions that the story of HHB was actually recounted to the current narrator by characters like Bree and Shasta/Cor. I find the idea of a horse telling stories so hilarious. I'll be using this word a lot whenever I have to refer to Bree. Another thing I thought was worthy to note was the metafictional quality of the narration, such as when Bree debunks myths about horses that were taught to children through fantasy stories. This story itself is a fantasy story.
2. Background to Lewis' knowledge and love of animals - At some points in the story, I get the sense that Lewis would have been a great advocate of animals, especially horses.
3. Feminism as an emerging force in characterization - Hwin and Aravis are both very strong female characters in this book. Perhaps once I've read all 7 books, I will have a more complete picture of the female characters in the series. Perhaps only then will I be able to assess accurately Lewis' treatment of the Feminist topic in his stories.
4. Aravis and Shasta/Cor's characterization
5. Hwin and Bree's characterization
6. Race, the Other, and the Alienization of Persians, Arabs and Anglo-Saxons - This goes back to my very first thought about this book where I asked the question, "Does anyone find the basis of the story racist?" I suppose I should tweak that question so that it reads: What are some instances in the story that portray the Persian and Arabian cultures as the Other? What impact do they have on generating or perpetuating the alienization of Muslim and Christian peoples and cultures? How do they achieve that effect, if there is one? I do not dare to forget that Lewis comes from an educated British background, of which there inevitably would have to be certain facets that colour his view of the people of other nations and ethnic groups, not to mention the different religious beliefs. This colouring is a product of the upbringing and the time period in which Lewis lived. For this reason, I would not dare to call Lewis racist, but at the same time, I cannot read HHB and not see an underlying current of racial tension, subtle as it may be. This is something that I am very eager to explore in the near future.
7. Aslan as God
Some say that Aslan is more comparable to Christ, but the way he was portrayed in HHB, he appears to have more similarities with God. There's a saying that goes, "God works in mysterious ways." This saying came to mind frequently while reading HHB, especially every time the children and horses were being chased by the lion.
And contrary to my prediction about Bree and Hwin, they don't end up marrying one another. I find it truly hiliarious that Lewis would actually wrap up their story and explain what happened to these horses later on, and point out that they don't end up marrying one another, although they remain good friends. Isn't that just so hilarious? I think so.
I was keeping track of all the topics that I can write essays about. I know there must already be a lot of essays written about these topics, but instead of just passively reading other people's essays, I'd like to write some of my own. Before I do so, however, I'd have to do some more research and take notes. I'll use my blog as my notebook.
Topics:
1. Narrative Style - Lewis tells the story like he's a grandfather telling stories to his grandchildren. At some points in the story, it mentions that the story of HHB was actually recounted to the current narrator by characters like Bree and Shasta/Cor. I find the idea of a horse telling stories so hilarious. I'll be using this word a lot whenever I have to refer to Bree. Another thing I thought was worthy to note was the metafictional quality of the narration, such as when Bree debunks myths about horses that were taught to children through fantasy stories. This story itself is a fantasy story.
2. Background to Lewis' knowledge and love of animals - At some points in the story, I get the sense that Lewis would have been a great advocate of animals, especially horses.
3. Feminism as an emerging force in characterization - Hwin and Aravis are both very strong female characters in this book. Perhaps once I've read all 7 books, I will have a more complete picture of the female characters in the series. Perhaps only then will I be able to assess accurately Lewis' treatment of the Feminist topic in his stories.
4. Aravis and Shasta/Cor's characterization
5. Hwin and Bree's characterization
6. Race, the Other, and the Alienization of Persians, Arabs and Anglo-Saxons - This goes back to my very first thought about this book where I asked the question, "Does anyone find the basis of the story racist?" I suppose I should tweak that question so that it reads: What are some instances in the story that portray the Persian and Arabian cultures as the Other? What impact do they have on generating or perpetuating the alienization of Muslim and Christian peoples and cultures? How do they achieve that effect, if there is one? I do not dare to forget that Lewis comes from an educated British background, of which there inevitably would have to be certain facets that colour his view of the people of other nations and ethnic groups, not to mention the different religious beliefs. This colouring is a product of the upbringing and the time period in which Lewis lived. For this reason, I would not dare to call Lewis racist, but at the same time, I cannot read HHB and not see an underlying current of racial tension, subtle as it may be. This is something that I am very eager to explore in the near future.
7. Aslan as God
Some say that Aslan is more comparable to Christ, but the way he was portrayed in HHB, he appears to have more similarities with God. There's a saying that goes, "God works in mysterious ways." This saying came to mind frequently while reading HHB, especially every time the children and horses were being chased by the lion.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Khalil Fong 方大同 - 春風吹
Taiwanese singer/songwriter. He's a big fan of Michael Jackson, and at the Chik Chak 903 Music Awards 2007, he performed alongside Ivana Wong and Hins Cheung. He even performed the moonwalk very nicely.
This is his new song, Spring Wind Blowing.
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