Bring on the Wordplay

I'm such a geek. I love dictionaries and words. One of my favorite all-time gifts was a paperback thesaurus from a high school boyfriend. The thesaurus went off to college with me and was overused (this is the life of a thesaurus with an English major) so much that the edges were dog-eared and the spine cracked. Even though I have replaced the paperback copy I received as a gift, I still have it somewhere...So, imagine how excited I was when I realized I could have a dictionary at my fingertips when I was online! Dictionary.com has got to be one of my favorite Internet destinations! It has all sorts of cool info. For instance, today there was an interesting question, certainly one I've never thought about: What sequence of letters has the most different pronunciations? I had no idea, so I clicked. (I'll let you click through for yourself to see the answer.) Who knew???
Anyway, I know I stopped by the site several times in the last week, looking up words that I might have heard of, but didn't really know what they meant, like febrile or bilious. (I was reading the side of a natural supplement box.) Today, I ended up on the site since my friend Linden asked me about the term postmodern. Here's what the dictionary.com search uncovered...

post·modern
–adjective
1. noting or pertaining to architecture of the late 20th century, appearing in the 1960s, that consciously uses complex forms, fantasy, and allusions to historic styles, in contrast to the austere forms and emphasis on utility of standard modern architecture.
2. extremely modern; cutting-edge: postmodern kids who grew up on MTV.

Um, ok. So I went on to another favorite source: Wikipedia. And, of course, Wikipedia provides the complete history as well as a definition of what postmodern means - definitely way more info than I ever wanted. I read the top-half of the page then scrolled down to see what else was on the bottom. In short, postmodern appears to refer to works of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. There was also a comparison:
Whereas Modernism is often associated with identity, unity, authority, and certainty, Postmodernism is often associated with difference, plurality, alterity, and skepticism.

I couldn't have said it better myself...

Baby Watch - Week 12

I finally had a chance to scrapbook (digitally!) one of the ultrasound pics. I've been meaning to try to document everything about this pregnancy, but time just escapes me, lol!

Where Were You?

Upon perusing an online scrapbooking store site, I found a link to a site called WereYouThere.com.

Since I'm really interested in scrapbooking and genealogy, I clicked the link and discovered a site where anyone can share their memories. The memories can be related to a specific event, such as the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, JFK's assassination, or 9/11. Or, some folks relay memories about their first car or first love. The main idea is that everyone has a memory to share, no matter how small.

For instance, when I read through some of the memories for the Challenger disaster, I recalled that I was a freshman in college. I was in the dining hall, eating breakfast, when I saw the launch being televised on every TV set in the dining hall. So, as I ate my cereal, I watched and listened to the live report, knowing that this particular launch included a civilian teacher. Others in the dining hall felt the same shock when we watched the shuttle launch successfully, then explode just seconds later. I remember looking around at everyone else, wondering if they had just witnessed what I did. I don't think any of us immediately comprehended what had happened. When I finally walked away from the set, knowing I had to get to my first class, I was in a fog.

Anyway, WereYouThere.com has lots of accounts of personal history. It's definitely someplace where you can get lost for hours on end, just reading memories.

Happy July 4th!

Independence Day 2010...

I didn't seek out any fireworks tonight, but instead headed to the movies to see Toy Story 3 in 3-D with a group of friends. I did, however, see several local firework displays as I was driving home since we chose to go to a showing that let out right before it got dark.

Toy Story 3 was great! I don't think the 3-D necessarily enhanced the movie much, so if given the choice, it really isn't a big deal to see the regular version. There was a lot of sentimentality, and I think it was even better than the first movie, which has been my favorite so far. If you haven't seen it yet, some of you may shed a tear near the end.

It's funny to think about getting all caught up in the perils in the life of a toy, but I guess it's just the way that the animators bring these toys to life, along with a great story. Definitely a must-own for my DVD library!

Hope you had an enjoyable (and safe!) 4th of July!