What Goes On Here

So, it's now the second week of vacation. Some of you might be wondering what I've been up to here in So-Cal. Okay, you're probably all to busy to wonder about that. But I'm going to tell you anyway.

1) Read The Phantom Tollbooth
*I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Lots of fun wordplay.

2) Watched Extended Fellowship of the Ring
3) Watched Extended Two Towers
4) Watched Extended Return of the King
5) Watched most of the special features from RotK
*Good old LotR.

6) Made preliminary arrangements for summer internship (with Reasons to Believe)
*More details as they become available

7) Watched "The Quesion of God: Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis"
*Quite an interesting show. It did a good job of comparing the divergent worldviews of Freud and Lewis. It would make an interesting study/discussion group seminar

8) Read The Greek Philosophers
*Provides a brief overview of the philosophical developments of such notable Greeks as Pythagorus, Socrates, and Aristotle

9) Read The Five People You Meet in Heaven
*This book was..."special." I thought it very well written and an enjoyable read, and it was certainly thought-provoking. And its presentation of heaven is certainly unique.

10) Read The Prince
*This was a good read. Not an easy book by any means, but I can certainly understand why it's considered a classic. The juxtaposition of Judeo-Christian morality with utilitarian pragmatism makes for a very interesting philosophy, indeed.

11) Watched Mary Poppins
*A bit sappy, perhaps, but not a bad movie. I particularly like the "Step in Time" chimney-sweep dance sequence.

12) Watched Run Silent, Run Deep
13) Watched my new copy of Fiddler on the Roof
*I love this movie.
13a) Discovered that my Fiddler DVD was scratched, and thus skipped repeatedly for the entire second half of the film
*I did not love this discovery
13b) Exchanged my Fiddler DVD for a new one
13c) Discovered that my new Fiddler DVD is just fine

14) Spent $70 at Borders buying several good things
*happy Gift Money Dance*

15) Translated a German article into English for a friend of my grandparents
*Nice to know I haven't forgotten everything I learned in high school...

16) Revisisted my informal study of Latin
*I wish I had lots of time so that I could really focus on this; unfortunately, I have other languages to worry about...

17) Reviewed some Spanish to keep from getting too rusty
18) Played several games of chess with my brother
19) Started reading Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams
*This promises to be a very interesting read...

So there you have it: my break thus far. Further updates as I feel like writing them.

WoW: 12/28/04

Sorry about the lateness, but at least it's only one day late, right?


Word of the Week for 12/28/04:

obsequious, adjective /uhb-SEE-kwee-uhs/
compliant to excess; fawning
adverb: obsequiously
noun: obsequiousness

Unto Us a Son is Given

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the Soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night when Christ was born;
O night divine!
O night, o night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star is sweetly gleaming,
There came the wise men from the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our needs, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King, your King! Before him bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother,
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
****

Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and your families now and in the days to come.

"Correctness" In English

Part of our final exam in History of the English Language involved writing an essay addressing "the history, practice, value, and future of 'correct' English." I found this topic very interesting, and I was fairly pleased with my efforts. I was going to follow the example of some of my friends and post the paper here, but then I realized that I can't do that nifty page-folding thingy in Blogger. So, I shall post a few selected excerpts from the paper below. Anyone who wishes to read the paper in its entirety should email me and request a copy (or comment here), and it will be given. If you are reading this blog and don't have my email address, you should know someone who does.


Excerpts from "The Straight and Narrow: 'Correctness' in the English Language:

"During the first several hundred years of its existence, the English language underwent a large number of changes thanks to shifting political situations. As a result, it was not until the Middle English period that any serious attempts at regulation of the language were made. In the fifteenth century, the East Midland dialect of Middle English became the basis for a written standard that would eventually become a spoken standard."

"During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, 'freewheeling' was the name of the game in usage of the English language. Efforts in the seventeenth century to establish an English Academy (an institution that would have been responsible for regulating English usage) failed, but people were still concerned with the issue of language."

"Today, as in the past, the rules of 'correct' grammar rear their heads most often in the written language. The language of formal writing, whether in schoolwork or scholarly journals, is held to a higher standard than the spoken language."

"The primary value of 'correct' grammar lies in its standardized nature. The purpose of language is communication, and having a standard system facilitates that purpose. But every distinct dialect of English works perfectly well in its own cultural context. African Americans speaking African American Vernacular English have no trouble communicating, or at least no more than two doctors speaking Standard American English do. Why, then, is the use of 'correct' English so important?"

"In some ways, learning 'proper' English is like learning a foreign language, both in method and purpose. When one is preparing to live for an extended time in a country whose native language is not English, one would be wise to make at least a cursory effort to learn that native language. One would have trouble getting by in Italy without at least a working knowledge of Italian. Likewise, one must be familiar with 'proper' English if one is to function successfully in educated society. Cooks at McDonald’s probably don’t need to know the proper use of the subjunctive tense to get by in their careers, but people who want to be university professors probably do. My personal goals more closely resemble the latter, so I must practice 'proper' English."

(Full text available upon request)

WoW: 12/20/04

I'll have a "real" post up at some point tomorrow or Wednesday. Until then, enjoy the new Word of the Week.

Word of the Week, 12/20/04:

anaphora, noun /uh-NAH-fer-uh/
1. The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs.
Ex: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills" (Winston Churchill)

2. Linguistics The use of a linguistic unit, such as a pronoun, to refer back to another unit.
Ex: "Anne asked Edward to pass her the salt
adjective: anaphoric

Farewell for Now *[UPDATED]*

Well, that's it. My last final is over. My room has been tidied, my bathroom cleaned, and my bags packed. All that remains now is the Room Inspection check-out, a quick trip to the Longview airport, and eight hours of waiting and flying before I'm home for the vacation.

This has been a good semester. As always, I've enjoyed my time with my old friends, and I've had the pleasure of making a few new ones, as well. I've learned some new things, I've had fun in classes, I've written and calculated and written some more.

I wish you all safe journeys and enjoyable vacations.

Merry Christmas!
Feliz Navidad!
Froeliche Weihnachten!
Happy New Year!

And may we all return safely next semester.

--Martinez


Updated 12/17/04, 11:53pm (Pacific)
Well, after two delayed flights, I arrived home safely. And only half an hour late.

While I'm updating, I'll just add one thing: cities look very cool at night from 20,000 feet up. Like islands of brilliant light in a sea of utter blackness.

Once again, Merry Christmas and safe journeys to all.

Amusing Anecdote

Prof. Payton told this story before our final exam today:

Once there was a student (we'll call him "Frank," for simplicity) who wasn't doing so well in a certain class. Frank knew he wasn't doing very well, so he came up with a plan. The day of the final exam, Frank struggled through the test. When he turned in the test, he clipped a $100 bill to it. "A dollar per point," he said to the professor, winking.

Several days later, the professor mailed the graded tests to his students. Frank retrieved his with giddy expectation. Attached to his test was an envelope containing $60 and a note reading, "Here's your change."

WoW: 12/13/04

Well, today's the first day of Finals Week. I wish you all luck with your exams and projects, and hope you don't get too burned out. If you get too stressed, you might get some first-hand experience with today's Wow.


Word of the Week, 12/13/04:

phantasmagoria, noun /faen-taez-muh-GOR-ee-yuh/
1. A shifting seris of phantasms or imaginary figures, as seen in a dream or fevered condition, as called up by the imagination, or as created by literary description.
2. a figure exhibiting such traits
adj: phantasmagorical

Why Spelling is Important

A snippet of a recent IM conversation:

***
Friend: Do you have a copy of [insert name of book here].

Me: 'Fraid not. Never even heard of it.

Friend: hrmm. *goes to bed ice caver to get book from attic*

Me: Umm...I think you meant "beg," right?

Friend: Oh dear. Yes, yes I did.
***

So watch your spelling, kids. Otherwise, who knows what you might be signing up for...

The Home Stretch

As you all know (I hope), tomorrow is the beginning of Finals Week. Many of you have already posted your finals schedules, so I figured I'd follow suit in case any of you were interested.


The Finals Week Schedule of Martinez

MONDAY:
9:45-11:45 am ->Modern Physics

TUESDAY:
12:45-2:45pm ->Intro to Speech Comm
6:00-9:00pm -> WLTF

WEDNESDAY:
9:45-11:45am -> Elem. Spanish 1
3:00-5:00pm -> History of the English Language (HotEL)

THURSDAY:
9:45-11:45am -> Western Civ

I expect the most trouble from Modern Physics and HotEL. Let the studying begin!

Venting

**WARNING: Ranting and Whining Ahead!!**

So we've got this new Web Registration thingy ("Buzznet"). It seems to work pretty well; it eliminates a lot of the footwork that was once required in order to register. My complaint is not with Buzznet.

I registered early. I was happy; my schedule was about as close to perfect as it could be. I got into exactly the classes I needed. Since I've changed my major, I've got to pack in the classes to make sure I graduate on time. My schedule for next semester fit in with that plan very nicely.

Then, about a week and a half (-ish) ago, the Administration changed the time at which one of my classes will be offered. In a cruel twist of fate, the class now coincides with one of the other classes I was scheduled for. Needless to say, this is a problem. I can't be in two classes at once, so one of the two must go.

At first, there was a glimmer of hope that the class time might be moved back if enough people wanted that. But not enough did, so I was forced to drop one of the classes and pick another.

Just one problem: by the time I knew I had to switch classes, all the other classes I need to take were either full or at a time slot I was already using. In other words, my once-beautiful schedule now has a scar the size of the Bell Tower running right across its face. I think I'll still be able to finish my classes on time (as long as this doesn't happen again), but it's going to be even less fun than before.

*screams incoherently in frustration*

WoW: 12/6/04

*NOTE: Please continue to leave comments on the previous post. Thank you.*

Here's a nifty little word that you don't see very often. It's kinda fun to say, though.


Word of the Week for 12/6/04:
chirurgery, noun /chih-RER-juh-ree/
(archaic) surgery
n: chirurgeon

It's Been A While

Today marks the 6-month anniversary of this blog. In case you care.

Overall, I've enjoyed having the blog. It's provided a nice creative outlet on a few occasions, although lately I haven't produced much of value. But this blog was originally made for You, the audience, and You are still the primary reason for its existence.

So, I am asking for your comments. Tell me what you liked and what you disliked. Tell me what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong; what you want to see more of and what you want to see less of. Feedback, people: I need feedback!