More than one official language just doesn’t work.

More than one official language just doesn’t work!  –  Back in the 60’s I was travelling in Belgium.  It was good that I had a French speaker with me.  I could handle German which many Flemish speakers could handle & English which many in Belgium spoke.  However, the road signs in Flemish & Walloon were all painted out.  –  The situation in Belgium is even worse.  –  Bi- or trilingual nations sound good and give one a nice warm fuzzy feeling, but they just don’t work.  –  Anglophone’s and Francophone’s for the most part don’t speak the others language in Canada.  Two official languages means two differnt countries.  Er, Quebec still has hopes of separating from the rest of nasty English speaking Canada.  –  Switzerland?  have you been there?  I have.  Each area speaks their own language and little if any of any other language, except maybe English.  –  I’m all for English as the official language of the US.  Speak, read, watch or listen to what you like at home or with friends.  If you have to deal with the rest of the country, try English.  –  I answer AMERICAN who speak to me in another language in my bastard German.  Actually, if one learns their own language well, they will vstly improve their English at the same time.  –  Noone cut me any slack when I moved to Germany.  Either Ilearned German or I was completely cut off.  This also made eating difficult.    Hab Dich ein shones Tag!

Sounds a lot like the Middle East to me.

In those parts of the world where learning and science have prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue. -Ethan Allen, revolutionary (1738-1789)

He made his dreams fly, sort of.

Just saw The Aviator.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  One wonders whether Hughes might have done more or less if he could have controlled his OCD.  –  It is amazing just how much aviation and film owe to him.  –  It might be interesting to see what sort of a “Spruce Goose” and aeronautical engineering student might build today based on the original plans.  –  If you haven’t seen the film, I highly recommend it.  I enjoyed the extras on the 2nd DVD.

One way to look at things!

Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original
in your work. -Gustave Flaubert, novelist (1821-1880)

Why Earthquakes

Hmm, Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country has been wracked by earthquakes.  –  I’m surprised some religious nutcakes haven’t claimed that these earthquakes are Allah’s revenge on Muslim Fundamentalists.  –  Makes as much sense to me as any other explanation.

Hmmm!

“I went to the Acupuncturist the other day. When I got home my voodoo doll was dead”

Sounds Reasonable to Me!

Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day–algorithm
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/algorithm.html

I thought AlGorithm had something to do with a belief in global warming.

ALBACON 08

G’day!  -  One can now register on-line.  –  You can also book your room on-line.  –  Slowly our web site gets more complete.  Wombat

Yup!

A real book is not one that we read, but one that reads us. -W.H. Auden,
poet (1907-1973)