tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20511985313931299562024-02-18T21:52:20.195-05:00Proverbial PunchSPEAKING AND HAVING FUN IN FIVE LANGUAGESAnthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-86031683588302427042014-07-08T13:10:00.000-04:002014-07-08T13:10:44.485-04:00 Origins of the alphabet, writing, and paper <br />
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The first alphabet was
created by Assyrian, Sumerian and Arab populations around 1800 B.C. I
should mention that the Arabs claim their ancestry to Abraham who lived
between 1800-1500 BC. It is plausible, however, that the honour goes to the
Phoenicians in around 1650 B.C. Being excellent sailors and sea-traders, it is
likely that they spread their alphabet throughout the countries of the
Mediterranean. </div>
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The Phoenician alphabet consisted exclusively of 22 consonants.
Vowels were added later by the Greeks around 750 B.C. To this day, the Hebrew and Arab alphabet don't have vowels.
The Etruscans adopted and modified the Greek alphabet which they passed it on
to Rome. The Romans later refined it by introducing the alphabet that we use
today in modern English, containing every letter except J, U and W. All
languages used in the West have kept the Roman alphabet. I should mention that the
Russians and Ukrainians still use the Greek alphabet</div>
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<b>Writing Direction
& The Etruscans<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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As for the alphabetical order and the direction of the
writing are purely arbitrary. In fact in the Western countries we write from
left to right, while in Arab countries they write from right to left, in China
from top to bottom. The <i>Etruscans</i>
wrote one line in one direction and the second line in the opposite direction. In
case you don't know, the Etruscans, people of an advanced civilization, lived
in Italy before the Romans in an area corresponding to modern <i>Tuscany, western Umbria and</i> <i>northern Latium</i>. They ruled Italy before
<i>the Romans</i> until they were expelled around 500 B.C. Later in 396 B.C. they were
absorbed by the Romans who adopted many of their advanced arts, their customs,
and their institutions.</div>
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<b>Invention of Paper<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The English word <i>paper
</i>derives from <i>papyrus</i>, a plant
used by the ancient Egyptians to make paper, which was used by other Mediterranean
cultures before the invention of paper in China by T'sai Lun in 105 A.D. </div>
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It took nearly 500 years for paper making to reach some parts
of Europe. It began in Spain and in Italy in the 12 th century, and by the year
1250 Italy had become one of the major producers of paper. By the 1400 this
craft had reached Southern France and Germany.</div>
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This rapid expansion of European paper production was accelerated
by the invention of the printing press.</div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-37932459125740011602014-07-06T16:14:00.001-04:002014-07-06T16:14:49.862-04:00Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-36502219287162536392014-05-06T11:03:00.000-04:002014-06-15T13:25:30.839-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdjlBnITNP_T28WWK4WpmAmyD3TpwwtjwC2kMHzcb9Z3N9fZUMZptWBOQh_WO_uNW7DKIvuSE8WM3UvyY9a7x4MW20YTWgfwTMGjx-4ZJJAdTR8hlal3uUMBQ74dU5UGqc3uQk-kolz4/s1600/thOYAO3U3G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZdjlBnITNP_T28WWK4WpmAmyD3TpwwtjwC2kMHzcb9Z3N9fZUMZptWBOQh_WO_uNW7DKIvuSE8WM3UvyY9a7x4MW20YTWgfwTMGjx-4ZJJAdTR8hlal3uUMBQ74dU5UGqc3uQk-kolz4/s1600/thOYAO3U3G.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Colours</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">How were names
assigned to all different colours?</b> </div>
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According to anthropologists colours were always given in
the same order but nobody knows why. The number of colours varies from culture
to culture, for example Eskimos have 7 words to indicate the colour white. Two
American anthropologists, Brent Berlin and Paul Kay have noticed that in
general the number goes from a minimum of 2 words (white and black, or clear
and dark as in New Guinea) to a maximum of 11 and they appear always in the
same order: white, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, orange, purple
(violet), pink and gray.</div>
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</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do all people smile
in the same way?</b></div>
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Yes and no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Orientals
and Westerners smile in different ways : This<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>emotion activates different facial muscles. Westerners<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>use many more muscles of the mouth, while
Orientals use the eyes to show mirth. A study done at the University of Glasgow
shows clearly, that for the same 6 emotions (happiness, surprise, fears, rage,
sadness, disgust) people from the West activate <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>more muscles of the face and mouth, while the
Orientals' emotions are much more difficult to interpret since they only
activate eye <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>muscles. In short Westerners
and Orientals smile in different ways.</div>
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</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Why do we bend our head to the right when we kiss somebody?</b></div>
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According to a recent study
done by a German psychologist this habit is born in the uterus. The upper part
of the spinal cord of the fetus tends to bend to the right as soon as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it starts to develop the heart and the
intestine.</div>
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</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Is it true that until the '700 women<span style="color: red;">, in the
old world</span>, did not use underwear?</b></div>
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It should be said that in the
'500 underwear was only worn by prostitutes. Everyone else started to wear them
in the '700 even though the Church did not approve.</div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women
started wearing knickers in the 19th century. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before that time the underwear worn was a long
linen garment called a shift, smock or chemise. In the 16th century women began
to wear corsets made with whalebone or wire called a farthingale. Later still some
women began to wear a roll around their waist called a 'bum-roll' to hold out
their dress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">In the US the underwear is called panties a
term never accepted in the UK.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Did you ever
think of becoming a stand up comedian? </span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">A paraprosdokian
is often used for humorous or comic effect. Some ofthem not only change the
meaning of an early phrase, but they also play on the double meaning of a
particular word.</span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the
latter</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or
unexpected; frequently</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #0f243e; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">humorous. Winston Churchill loved them.</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">1.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where
there's a will, I want to be in it.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my
list.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear
bright until you hear them speak.</span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">7. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many
is research.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">8. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">9. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street
with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">10. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure...</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">11. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you
hit the target.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 5pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #002060; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">12.</span><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> I asked
God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way; so I stole<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a bike and asked for forgiveness.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">13. The last thing I
want to do is hurt you; but it's still on the list.</span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">14. Light travels
faster than sound; this is why some people appear bright<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>until you hear them speak.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">15. The
early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<br />
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</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">16. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where
a train stops. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On my desk, I have a
work station.</span></div>
<br />
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</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">17. A
bank is a place that will lend you money, if you can prove that you don't need
it.</span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">18. Why do Americans
choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America ? </span></div>
<br />
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</div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">19.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behind every successful man is his woman.
Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
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<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">20. Some
cause happiness wherever they go. Others whenever they go.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
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</div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-37249165990060017882014-03-29T17:47:00.000-04:002014-03-29T17:47:13.608-04:00Interesting Amusing Tidbits
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0bSSAfrAvV25wwq2_z-r486POHcWia0a8azHEOfT42XmxqIExmC-OZsgEUPfgE005ImCrAnkTfHDspNQEv_JZiz1z7GXsVRyQwa-a6msV7Bi9Vj_QXNRQw5bSstcbLZN6J6yBJYa0eU/s1600/Kissing+day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr0bSSAfrAvV25wwq2_z-r486POHcWia0a8azHEOfT42XmxqIExmC-OZsgEUPfgE005ImCrAnkTfHDspNQEv_JZiz1z7GXsVRyQwa-a6msV7Bi9Vj_QXNRQw5bSstcbLZN6J6yBJYa0eU/s1600/Kissing+day.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Origins of names as reported by Bill Bryson: Kennedy</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">= ugly head, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Campbell</b>= crooked mouth. </i>The same is equally true for other
languages <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gorky</b>= bitter, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tolstoy</b>=
fat, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Macchiavelli</b>= bad nail, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Cicero</b>= wart on the nose.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p>Did you know that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Leonardo
DiCaprio</i></b> was named while his pregnant mother was standing in front of
Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting at the Galleria degli Uffizi? It was then that she
first felt baby DiCaprio’s kick.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p>It is illegal to be a
prostitute in Siena, Italy, if your name is Mary. </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cappuccino</i></b> (coffee)
derives from the Italian word cappuccino which means hood, which is itself
derived from Latin “cappa”. A properly prepared cappuccino leaves a brown ring
along the rim of the cup making it look like a capuchin (Franciscan monk) cowl.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<o:p> </o:p>Did you ever think why the
abbreviation for pound is “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lb.”? Because
in ancient Rome the value of a sack of coins was determined by weight which was
measured in “libras”<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Where does the term “paparazzi”come from?</b> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
This term was popularized by
Federico Fellini’s 1960 film “La Dolce Vita<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">”.
</i>One of the characters in the film is<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Signore Paparazzo”a tabloid photographer. Since then photographers who
stalk public figures and celebrities, such as athletes, politicians,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>actors, singers etc. are called “paparazzi”.</div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Don’t be surprised<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
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In 2005 two etymologists from
Cornell University dedicated the names of 3 new beetles (roaches) to George
Bush, then President, Dick Cheney, Vice President, and Donald Rumsfeld,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>secretary of defense at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 3 new species were given the names of
Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi, and Agathidium rumsfeldi.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For all lovers out there</b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
A study done in England
reveals that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">kissing</i> causes the brain
to release oxytocin, sometimes called bonding hormone. The study suggests that
more oxytocin release did make easier for men to relax and act more lovingly
toward their sexual partner.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Here a short list
of not too well-known and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>humorous
Italian sayings:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Ama il tuo
letto come te stesso.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Love
your bed like yourself.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Quando ti
viene voglia di lavorare, metteti a sedere e aspetti che ti passa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
When <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>you feel like
working, sit down and wait, it will pass.</div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Di troppo
riposo non è morto nessuno. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Nobody
has ever died from too much rest.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Si nasce
stanchi<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>e si vive per riposare. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>We are born tired and we live to rest.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Quello che ha
inventato la fatica è morto da un pezzo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
He who invented hard work died a long time ago.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Se vedi
qualcuno che si riposa aiutalo. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>If
you see somebody resting let him be.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Non fare oggi
quello che puoi fare domani. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Don’t
do today what you can do tomorrow.</div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-76620642823711001992014-01-20T12:19:00.000-05:002014-01-20T12:19:31.846-05:00Little know facts about well Known personalities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQJORWHwXG49ioBGVKjSlghfV9yPnKRnQH9p6zSE5inQRDDwkfpHALmW1-tgL3r8RkkBkjsI3JxViK79X8ISz-9KvYiwVZkUvpDyVkb5DAk3A6rUR6riqLq7SlZ4KvO51RK2qGd231fk/s1600/th%5B6%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQJORWHwXG49ioBGVKjSlghfV9yPnKRnQH9p6zSE5inQRDDwkfpHALmW1-tgL3r8RkkBkjsI3JxViK79X8ISz-9KvYiwVZkUvpDyVkb5DAk3A6rUR6riqLq7SlZ4KvO51RK2qGd231fk/s1600/th%5B6%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
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Did you know that Leonardo DaVinci, Albert Einstein, Bill
Gates, Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, J. F. Kennedy, Pablo Picasso and many
others were dyslexic? </div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Churchill had difficulty in learning how to read. Agatha
Christie dictated her books because she mixed up the order of the letters in
writing. I think that it is much harder to learn how to read in English or
French because the same letters have different sounds, while in Italian every
letter corresponds to one sound. This explains why the number of dyslexics in
Italy is very low.</div>
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</div>
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Did you know that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mussolini</b>,
in order to encourage population growth, imposed a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bachelor’s Tax </b>in the late 1920’s ?The reason why we use <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">lb</b>. for pound is due to the fact that in
ancient Rome the value of a sack of coins was determined by weight which was
measured in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">librae (</b>pl. of libra).</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
When <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Michelangelo</b>
overheard that the statue of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">La Pietà</b> was being attributed to
another sculptor he signed it by carving his name diagonally across Mary’s
chest.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Leonardo DiCaprio
</b>was named after <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Leonardo Da Vinci </b>because
his pregnant mother felt DiCaprio first kick while she was admiring <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Leonardo’s </b>painting at <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Galleria Degli Uffizi</b>.in Florence.</div>
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</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">History of
Spaghetti</b></div>
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</div>
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Contrary to popular belief it wasn’t Marco Polo the first
to bring pasta from China , instead were the Arabs during the conquest of
Sicily.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">History of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>e-mail<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ray Tomlinson, </b>a
US programmer, is the inventor of internet based e-mail. In 1971 he was
inspired by colleagues who didn’t answer their phones. He chose the symbol <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">@ </b>which he placed between the user log
in name and the host computer.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Gondolas
in Venice</b></div>
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</div>
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There are about 400 gondolas in Venice and all are
obliged to be painted black, unless it belongs to a high official . All gondoliers
mush wear black pants. When one gondolier dies the license passes to his widow.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Movement used to
say no with your head varies from culture to culture<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
To say “no” we turn our head to the right and left. For
the Indians this movement is the opposite ( it means “yes”.).</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Arabs, to show disagreement, move their head up. Turks
and Iranians, to indicate “yes” move their head from side to side. In Greece,
to indicate ”yes”, they move their head backwards.</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Dolbear’s<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Law <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
In 1897<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Amos
Dolbear,</b> an American scientist, published an article <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The Cricket as a Thermometer”</i>in which he describes<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b>how
the rate of crickets chirp, that male crickets use to attract females,
increases with the higher temperature<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">. </b>The
formulas below are fairly accurate. To calculate the temperature in Fahrenheit
count the number of chirps in 15 seconds (N<span style="font-size: 10pt;">15</span>)
then add 40, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">T</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">F</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">=40+N</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">15.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
To calculate the temperature in Celsius there is a
shortcut method: “count the number of chirps in 8 seconds then add 5, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">T</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">C</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">=5+N</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">8<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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</div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-82586001071172196272013-12-07T16:37:00.000-05:002013-12-07T16:37:14.696-05:00For Curious People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR2rhEAxWi-S8TGMQHDePd14eZMPIGv5dxeL55VkD2ZQyU7y0D9_wvGOoXGx_qW8EYAWXtY3u21kbqltorrYp0zWprfPN4wg46hDP6314YyTDNiW2518QGw23iR6IPNoVYW4jFo6naLA/s1600/sexy_red_lingerie_for_happy_new_year%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijR2rhEAxWi-S8TGMQHDePd14eZMPIGv5dxeL55VkD2ZQyU7y0D9_wvGOoXGx_qW8EYAWXtY3u21kbqltorrYp0zWprfPN4wg46hDP6314YyTDNiW2518QGw23iR6IPNoVYW4jFo6naLA/s320/sexy_red_lingerie_for_happy_new_year%5B1%5D.jpg" width="259" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Curious People <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
Traditions old and new, as well as superstitions<span style="color: red;">,</span> all mix together to create the culture of modern day
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we approach the New Year<span style="color: red;">,</span> I would like to share with you how Italians ring in
this event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Do Italians really
wear red underpants on New Year’s Eve? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>It might surprise you to discover that
Italian men and women do wear red underpants for good luck (Buona Fortuna). In
order for this custom to be effective, the red underwear must be thrown out the
following day. Especially in the south, throwing old things out the window symbolizes
the acceptance of the New Year, insuring good luck.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">What do you know
about the Roman Emperor Nero (37-68AD)?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
He is remembered for his perverse mind and his persecution
of Christians. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nero</i>,</b> who killed his mother and two of his wives, became
totally deranged in later life. When a fire ravaged <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city> for six days, destroying 14 districts, Romans
suspected that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nero</i> had set this
fire. According to a legend, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nero</i>
craved to become pregnant as he wanted to experience the feeling of giving
birth. He threatened doctor after doctor until he found two who gave him a
beverage containing a small live frog. After swallowing this potion, the frog
would move in his belly thus giving him the sensation of having a baby. In the
meantime the two doctors fled before the frog showed up in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nero’s</i> stools. Nero, to mock those who laughed at him, paraded the
frog through the streets of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Rome</st1:place></st1:city>
on a chariot. When the parade reached the <st1:place w:st="on">Tiber</st1:place>,
the frog jumped into the river, hence the word (name<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">) Laterano, </b>from the Latin<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Latitans
rana”(frog on the run).</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Do you know where the
term “Syphilis” comes from?<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Girolamo Fracastoro (1478-1553)</i>, an Italian physician, poet,
astronomer and geologist studied at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Padua</st1:placename></st1:place>,
where he met the Polish astronomer <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Copernicus</i>.</b> His most famous work was
the narrative poem <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Syphilis Sive Morbo
Gallico”</b>(French disease), in which he talks about a young shepherd (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sifilio</i>) who is infected with this
sexually transmitted disease, now called syphilis. I should add that in 1494,
the siege of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Naples</st1:place></st1:city>
by the French troops and their aggregated 800 prostitutes caused an epidemic of
this Syphilis. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Casanova and his anti conception method</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Casanova</i></b> (1725-1798), the
legendary world’s greatest lover, conquered women with his charm and his love
technique. <span style="display: none; mso-hide: all;">e was a very intelligent
manh</span> He was a very intelligent man who was welcomed in the boardroom and
in the bedroom. It is said that he slept with 130 women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>C<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">asanova
</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is also known for having discovered
the use of lemons as a contraceptive: a lemon was cut in half, squeezed, and
the rind, devoid of pulp, was placed over the uterine opening like a cap. This
has been confirmed by Australian scientists at the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Melbourne</st1:placename></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides being a “playboy” he was a prolific
writer as well.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Things that you
never knew:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
1) Every man produces 104 millions of spermatozoa a day,
about 1200 per second. </div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2) The brain
reaches 90% of its size by age six, stops growing by age 18, and it weighs an <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>average of
1.5Kg. (3lbs), representing 2% of our body weight.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
3) Parts of our body do regenerate: bones in 7 years, skin
regenerates completely in 15-30 days, nails in 3-4 months<span style="color: red;">. </span>It varies from individual to individual and it is also
influenced by the seasons.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
4) There are 600 different shapes of pasta in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
5) Did you know that in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">France</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>you cannot use the word “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mademoiselle</i>”? In fact the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>French Government has abolished the word from
its official protocols and replaced it with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Madame</i>”.
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Anglo-Saxon</b> countries use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ms</i>. ”instead of “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miss</i>”. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Germany</b></st1:country-region> uses “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Frau</i>” and not “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fraulein</i>”,
and in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Italy</b></st1:place></st1:country-region><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signorina</i>” has been
replaced by “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Signora</i>”.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-28174630204993380612013-10-07T21:38:00.000-04:002013-10-07T21:38:37.092-04:00Some Interesting Tidbits<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L7IB4fpnDNpO9BFyXdj37olldGin5XAmXpI4uPSr-ps64_cWfGaIPYUg2aPwlqNGND7XAg5XuqZ7CNo_fyercCFJh66M70Djt4Br18e2I2bkU1kP6OT1T0gFX-BU9hI2HnFktsUL8ec/s1600/thCA82B4H4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5L7IB4fpnDNpO9BFyXdj37olldGin5XAmXpI4uPSr-ps64_cWfGaIPYUg2aPwlqNGND7XAg5XuqZ7CNo_fyercCFJh66M70Djt4Br18e2I2bkU1kP6OT1T0gFX-BU9hI2HnFktsUL8ec/s1600/thCA82B4H4.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
No word in the English language rhymes with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">month, orange, silver, or purple</i>.</div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Dreamt" </i>is
the only English word that ends in the letters <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"mt".<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The sentence: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"The
quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"</i> uses every letter of the alphabet.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">( I know you are
going to try this out for accuracy, right?)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
There are only four words in the English language that
end in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"dous": tremendous,
horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Are you doubting
this?)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
There are two words in the English language that have all
five vowels in order: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"facetious"
and "abstemious."<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(I bet you are going
to say: "a, e, i, o, u".<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Typewriter"
</i>is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of
the keyboard.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Test this out)<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Stewardesses"
</i>is the longest word typed with only the left hand and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"lollipop" </i>with your right.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(You tried this
out mentally, didn't you ?)<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"screeched."<o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
The words <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"racecar,"
"radar," "madam," kayak" and "level"</i> are
the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Palindromes).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Babies</i> are born
without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of
age.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose
and ears never stop growing.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Women </i>blink nearly
twice as much as men.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rubber bands</i> last
longer when refrigerated.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A goldfish</i> has a
memory span of three seconds.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A crocodile</i> cannot
stick out its tongue.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A snail</i> can sleep
for three years.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 302.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shark</i> is the only fish
that can blink with both eyes.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 302.0pt;">
A <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">dragonfly </i>has a life span of 24 hours.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 302.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Butterflies </i>taste with their feet.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tigers</i> have
striped skin, not just striped fur.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 328.5pt;">
A <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"jiffy" </i>is an actual unit of time for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">1/100th</i> of a second.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 328.5pt;">
The average American
motorist,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in his lifetime,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>will spend an average of 6 months waiting for
red lights to turn green.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Leonardo Da Vinci, who could write with one
hand and draw with the other, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>invented
the scissors.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 328.5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red;">Winston
Churchill, who smoked between 8 to 10 cigars a day, and drank at least 22 shots
of cognac and champagne a day, was born in a ladies' room during a dance.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 328.5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Now you know
everything !<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-17188207796955482262013-09-09T16:47:00.000-04:002013-09-09T16:47:23.854-04:00Funny English Translations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFroLugwKHJQjaF9F8sDLQCdEkZ5wL0ZsSx2AKpfgaPEH272YDl_mfgw7GDs26QGkZvLsOQGpgRlVP0HSHoDry75YAg9iCT0FiGhhtjAnqt7tQ3s7b1AXtSPyO6rkNqN_DcMJtk798gw/s1600/th%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFroLugwKHJQjaF9F8sDLQCdEkZ5wL0ZsSx2AKpfgaPEH272YDl_mfgw7GDs26QGkZvLsOQGpgRlVP0HSHoDry75YAg9iCT0FiGhhtjAnqt7tQ3s7b1AXtSPyO6rkNqN_DcMJtk798gw/s1600/th%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>English is
regarded as being cool, thus is being used all over</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the world for
advertisement. Here is an hilarious selection of funny</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
English signs and notices from all four corners of the
world.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an Acapulco
hotel:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The manager has personally passed all the water here</i>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a golf course in
Mexico</b>:</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Any persons, except
players, caught collecting golf balls on this course <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will be prosecuted
and have their balls removed.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a Copenhagen
airline ticket office</b>:</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We take your bags and send them in
all directions.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Doctors office, Rome:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 246.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Specialist in women and other diseases.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a
Nairobi restaurant:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Customers who find
our waitresses rude ought to see the manager</i>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a
cemetery</b>:</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Persons are prohibited from
picking flowers <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from any graves but
their own</i>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you like to ride on
your own ass ?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A laundry in
Rome:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ladies leave your clothes
here and spend <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the afternoon having a
good time.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cocktail lounge,
Norway:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ladies are requested not to have
children in the bar.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dry cleaners ,
Bangkok:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drop your trousers here for
best results.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the menu of a Swiss
restaurant:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our wines leave you
nothing to<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hope for.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hotel,
Japan:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are invited to take
advantage of the chambermaid.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This one might interest Dominic
Strauss Kahn!)<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
the lobby of a Moscow hotel across <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from
a Russian Orthodox monastery:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Your are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet
composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hotel,
formerYugoslavia:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flattening of underwear with pleasure<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is the job of the chambermaid.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supermarket, Hong
Kong:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For your
convenience, we recommend <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>courteous
, efficient self-service.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tourist agency,
former Czechoslovakia:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take one of our
horse-driven city tours.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We guarantee no miscarriages</i>.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: right 374.55pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 187.25pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a Swiss mountain inn:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 187.25pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Special today - no ice-cream.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 187.25pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 187.25pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a Paris hotel elevator:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please leave your values
at the front desk.</i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outside a Hong
Kong tailor shop:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ladies may
have a fit upstairs.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a Rhodes (Greece)
tailor shop:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Order your summer suit.
Because is big rush <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we will execute customers in
strict rotation.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a Budapest zoo:<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please do not
feed the animals. If you have any <o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt 223.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>suitable food,
give it to the guard on duty.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt 223.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt 223.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a Indian maternity:<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt 223.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
children allowed.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: 161.5pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-58158825032551036112013-06-28T10:56:00.000-04:002013-06-28T11:22:33.608-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGhQqBRM6gKaW9Ls9fIDx-zvWbJT98qjG7z7QzWo1yZTDQPfvN2SsGRQqi_eNo67Y3dHpP-kDn7UwxDzErF4Z6FRDoSPGyX2BB4TkILqV13i4LT_ChbTByW3IaweqiAxUsm6YYq27bZ4/s170/k4143514%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMGhQqBRM6gKaW9Ls9fIDx-zvWbJT98qjG7z7QzWo1yZTDQPfvN2SsGRQqi_eNo67Y3dHpP-kDn7UwxDzErF4Z6FRDoSPGyX2BB4TkILqV13i4LT_ChbTByW3IaweqiAxUsm6YYq27bZ4/s170/k4143514%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
Here is an entertaining and heartwarming approach to
relationships.</div>
I like to share with you these amusing math calculations
that I came across lately. Enjoy !<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; tab-stops: 337.3pt;">
ROMANCE MATHEMATICS<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smart man + smart
woman = romance</div>
Smart man + dumb
woman = affair<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
Dumb man + smart
woman = marriage<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dumb man + dumb woman
= pregnancy</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>OFFICE ARITHMETIC</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Smart boss + smart
employee = profit<br />
<br />
Smart boss + dumb
employee = production<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dumb boss + smart
employee = promotion</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dumb boss + dumb
employee = overtime<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
SHOPPING MATH</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man will pay $20
for a $10 item he needs.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
A woman will pay $10
for a $20 item that she doesn't need.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS</div>
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.<br />
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
A man never worries
about the future until he gets a wife.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife
can spend.</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A successful woman is
one who can find such a man.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<br />
HAPPINESS</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be happy with a
man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not
try to understand her at all. _______________________________</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LONGEVITY</div>
Married men live
longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>PROPENSITY TO CHANGE</div>
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man marries a woman
expecting that she won't change, and she does.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE</div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A woman has the last
word in any argument.<br />
Anything a man says
after that is the beginning of a new argument.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>_____________________________</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>HOW TO STOP PEOPLE
FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Old aunts used to
come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs and cackling, telling me, </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p>"You're next." They stopped after I started
doing the same thing to them at funerals.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>OFFICE ARITHMETIC<o:p></o:p></u></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Smart boss +
smart employee = profit<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Smart boss +
dumb employee = production<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">Dumb boss +
smart employee = promotion<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dumb boss + dumb employee
= overtime<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
IS MATHEMATICS STILL SOLVING LIFE'S GREATEST PROBLEMS ?<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">YOU DO THE MATH.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Was Pythagoras
right in stating that " All is number ?"<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">PS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll be taking a summer hiatus, I like to wish you all a safe and happy
summer.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-23412126443419250882013-05-19T17:30:00.000-04:002013-05-19T18:11:09.692-04:00For Curious People<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhfLMlzAHMcJulqDbMO14nJ2OXslOg0W16DGuQH1TWFpYITo2vygwntOETBj5RKtkhDRJ-Hippwle4KCc5d6pgHmCDq9XDhOupm8gYlcOsxZxkbbu94OX25FfU2eF1-MeJXGo0xAMOe4/s1600/imagesCA0ZHNHR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" pua="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhfLMlzAHMcJulqDbMO14nJ2OXslOg0W16DGuQH1TWFpYITo2vygwntOETBj5RKtkhDRJ-Hippwle4KCc5d6pgHmCDq9XDhOupm8gYlcOsxZxkbbu94OX25FfU2eF1-MeJXGo0xAMOe4/s1600/imagesCA0ZHNHR.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Things we never thought of: Time spent doing various activities or physical functions in our lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A man takes an average of 600 steps a day, which is equivalent to 4 times the circumference of the earth in our lifetime. A lady spends 3 years taking care of her body and make up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We blink our eyes 15-20 times a minute, 10 thousand times a day and more than 6 million times a year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women blink nearly twice as much as men. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consider also that we spend the same amount of time peeing as making love.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Since our average life expectancy is 80 years, I'm going to break down the time that an average person spends doing stuff in his (her) lifetime so that we can all program our time to do everything that we want to do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Time spent for every action:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Standing up <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>30 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Sleeping<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>27 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Walking<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>16 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Watching TV<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Listening to the radio<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Seated at a table<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Working<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8-9 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Eating<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>6-7 years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Talking on the phone (women)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>years</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Laughing with friends<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1 year & 258 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Having a cold<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>500 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Being sick<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>420 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Making love<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>110 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Having a pee<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>106 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Waiting for a woman<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 months</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Having a poo (shit)<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>53 days</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Having an orgasm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>16 hours</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">Sticking the fingers in the nose<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4 times a day</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">We lose almost 1g of skin every day which is equivalent to 20 Kg in our lifetime. Remember that we change our skin completely every 3-4 weeks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-CA">I should add that we waste precious time in many other activities of our life, such as waiting for a bus,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in traffic (7 years), etc. etc.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Smile and don't waste time!<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-16228204258225911152013-04-12T17:16:00.003-04:002013-04-12T17:16:57.149-04:00The Power of a Sex Strike by Women<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GG7zB3AuEhFhd0XY66C7QcYMDbmV7vTPHRYwSnIVSbBEEV6TBImK7FKoXwcYkDP6unDaiOzSbn7ieoM_hFNbOUO4ErPM_0iw273QEYuQ4IBBtjAaAD1fHvu-MZjYkVSexFao5QgbmY8/s1600/scan0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" bua="true" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GG7zB3AuEhFhd0XY66C7QcYMDbmV7vTPHRYwSnIVSbBEEV6TBImK7FKoXwcYkDP6unDaiOzSbn7ieoM_hFNbOUO4ErPM_0iw273QEYuQ4IBBtjAaAD1fHvu-MZjYkVSexFao5QgbmY8/s320/scan0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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How to stop wars or revolutions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Women have an infallible weapon: “Sex Strike.” There are so many ways of playing politics, one of the most efficacious and congenial is a sex boycott. This idea first originated 2400 years ago, when <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Aristophanes,</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>Greek play writer, in one of his comedies, narrates how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lysistrata</i>, an extraordinary woman, managed to persuade, women, young and old from various city states of Greece, to abstain from sex with their husbands and lovers in order to force them to forge a truce with their rivals from Sparta, and thus bring an end to the Peloponnesian War, 431-404 A.C.</div>
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Even today, according to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Michael Norton</i>, the strategy of sex strike is quite effective. In his book of “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">365 Ways to Change the World</i>” he puts it in the 14<sup>th</sup> place for its effectiveness. </div>
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In 1992 women in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Poland</b> used this strategy quite successfully. In this very catholic country contraception was prohibited, thus the only way to control the birth of a baby was abortion. But as soon as the newly elected Prime Minister, Hanna Suchacka, made abortion illegal, Polish women answered with a sex strike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Consequently the number of births went down causing the fall of the catholic government.</div>
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In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Colombia,</b> in October 1997, the chief of the military publicly called for a sex strike among the wives and girlfriends of the Colombian left-wing guerrillas, drug traffickers and paramilitaries as a strategy to achieve a ceasefire. The guerrillas ridiculed the initiative since they had 2000 women in their army. In the end the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ceasefire was achieved, but lasted only a short time.</div>
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In September 2006, wives and girlfriends of gang members, from <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Pereira, Colombia</b>, started a sex strike called “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La huelga de las piernas cruzadas” (the strike of the crossed legs) </i>to curb gang violence and to force gang members to hand in their guns with the motto<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “Violence is not sexy”. </i>In 2010 the murder rate in Colombia went down 26.5%</div>
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In 2001 in Sirt a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Turkish </i></b>village with 600 inhabitants, near Antalya, because of a broken aqueduct, women had to walk 16 Km in order to fetch water home. Islamic religion requires a bath after a sexual relation, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but if we can bathe nor wash our clothes then we can’t have sex “</i>, this was the message sent to their husbands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After three weeks of abstinence, the local government installed 8 Km of a new pipeline.</div>
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In 2002, in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sudan,</b> women from various clans started a sex strike hoping to put an end to a civil war that had been going on for 19 years.</div>
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In 2003 was the turn of the women of Aghem, in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the North East of Camerun,</b> who refused to have sex and to cook for their families for 3 months.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They went back to their fields only when the wife of their chief guaranteed them a solution.</div>
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The same happened in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Liberia</b>, when Charles Taylor with a coup d’état named himself President, thousands of women, to stop a civil war, all dressed in white protested through the streets. They soon started a sex strike until a new democratic election gave them, in 2005, a woman president, the first woman in Africa.</div>
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In 2008 there was a sex strike, in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Naples, Italy, </b>over firework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hundreds of women pledged to abstain from sex with their men unless they refrained from setting off dangerous and illegal<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>firework on New Year’s Eve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past these fireworks caused many injuries. In fact, the leader of this movement, Mrs. Staiano, had spent her entire life taking care of her father, who was left partially paralyzed after a firework exploded next to him at a previous New Year’s Eve celebration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local authorities backed the women and sent out text messages urging men <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“to make love, not explosions.”</i></div>
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In 2009 there was a similar case in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Kenya</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time even the wife of the President and the wife of the Prime Minister joined the protesters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Abstinence from sex forced the 2 litigants to talk peace.</div>
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More recently, March 22/10 a feminist movement in the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ukraine, </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Femen Ukrainian, </i>called on wives and lovers of members of government to castigate their husbands with a sex boycott to protest against sexual exploitation and discrimination of Ukrainian women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This non violent and legitimate form of protest was a reaction to the Prime Minister’s explanation that the lack of women ministers was due to the fact that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>women are unfit to carry out government reforms as they are unable to say no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To add insult to injury, the President stated that the place of women is in the kitchen and not in politics.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All these sex strike movements seem to have been inspired, to some degree, by the Greek play, Lysistrata<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-79805946062518505052013-03-30T21:54:00.000-04:002013-03-30T21:54:09.155-04:00A Legacy of Achievement: The Italian Americans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDhgR0xMXvv_Gd_bBncfReu4CgDHXIdm607izyhLAH_56_dquiBYIBQfLJi0s8pPFccA1z41jah2Fx-d3TbL7ase01xTmXLVZ_1LsMeHL6Ug079A8SuOD6V0Ik6RtRbZvA8uKi1SSYUY/s1600/Italian%2520Celebs%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDhgR0xMXvv_Gd_bBncfReu4CgDHXIdm607izyhLAH_56_dquiBYIBQfLJi0s8pPFccA1z41jah2Fx-d3TbL7ase01xTmXLVZ_1LsMeHL6Ug079A8SuOD6V0Ik6RtRbZvA8uKi1SSYUY/s320/Italian%2520Celebs%5B1%5D.jpg" usa="true" width="320" /></a></div>
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Italians have greatly contributed to science, arts, technology, cuisine, sports and banking worldwide. Italian people are also known for their attention to clothing and family values.</div>
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In addition to the 60 million Italians living in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, it is estimated that nearly 80 million people of full or part Italian ancestry live outside of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, mostly in South America, North America, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Australia</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here are countries that have Italian blood:</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">1.Brazil 25 million, 2.Argentina 20 million, 3. USA 18 million, 4. </span>France 4 million, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">5.Canada <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1.5 million, 6.Uruguay 1.3 million, 7. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Australia</st1:place></st1:country-region> 850 000, 8.Venezuela 700 000<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">9. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Germany</st1:place></st1:country-region> 700 000, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Switzerland</st1:country-region></st1:place> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>600 000, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>11. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Peru</st1:place></st1:country-region> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>500 000, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">12. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United Kingdom</st1:place></st1:country-region> 400 000, 13.Belgium 290 000, 14. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Chile</st1:country-region></st1:place> 150 000, 15. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Paraguay</st1:place></st1:country-region> 100 000, <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">16. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">South Africa</st1:place></st1:country-region> 45 000, 17. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Holland</st1:city></st1:place> 30 000, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>17. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Mexico</st1:country-region></st1:place> 20 000, 18. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Costa Rica</st1:country-region></st1:place> 20 000.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A major wave of Italian immigrants came to <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> during the 1880’s through the 1920’s, after <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>’s unification in1861, when over 4 million Italians entered the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>. However the impact was far greater in countries like <st1:country-region w:st="on">Brazil</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Argentina</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first Italian immigrants to <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> were from northern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, <st1:state w:st="on">Veneto</st1:state>, <st1:place w:st="on">Friuli</st1:place>, Lombardia and Piemonte. They were followed <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by people from southern <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>: <st1:state w:st="on">Sicily</st1:state>, <st1:state w:st="on">Calabria</st1:state>, <st1:state w:st="on">Campania</st1:state> and <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Abruzzi</st1:place></st1:state>. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italian immigrants were originally discriminated against. In fact, there was a time when speaking Italian was a crime. It is ironic when we consider that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region></st1:place> was named after Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer and geographer.</div>
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Italians and their descendants in <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> helped shape the country and contributed to the advancement in the quality of life in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They gained prominence in politics, sports, media, fine arts, culinary arts and in many other fields of endeavor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No wonder that every year the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country-region> President signs an executive order designating the month of October as the National Italian American Heritage Month.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This proclamation is recognition of the many achievements and contributions of Italian Americans.</div>
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Here is a short list of prominent Italian American personalities among many other great Italian legends: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rodolfo Valentino, Fiorello La Guardia, Gerardine Ferraro, Nancy Pelosi, Mario and Andrew Cuomo, Chris Christie, Rudy Giuliani, Antonio Meucci, Ghirardelli, Enrico Fermi, Enrico Caruso, Antonin Scalia, John Sirica, Madonna, Susan Lucci, Susan Sarandon, Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola, Sylvester Stallone, Leonardo Di Caprio, Danny De vito, Al Pacino, Alan Alda, Sonny Bono, Danny Aiello, Ben Gazzara, Ernest Borgnine, Mario Lanza, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Perri Como, Julius La Rosa, Louis Prima, Connie Francis, Annette Funicello, Henri Mancini, Guy Lombard, Liberace, Tony Danza, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Yogi Berra, Tommy Lasorda, Joe Di Magio, Tony La Russe, Primo Carnera, Rocky Marciano.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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I would like to add two names that are not well known but noteworthy nonetheless:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Adelina Patti, </i>a soprano who, while singing at the White House, touched the heart of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> President Abraham Lincoln, </i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Amadeo Giannini </i>who founded<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Bank of Italy </i>in 1904 in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:city></st1:place>. </div>
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It served working class citizens of the area, especially Italian Americans living in <st1:city w:st="on">San Francisco</st1:city>’s <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">North Bay</st1:city></st1:place> area<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. </i>In 1928,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Bank of Italy </i>merged with the smaller<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Bank of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region></i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1930<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Giannini </i>changed the name<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Bank of Italy </i>to<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Bank of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</i></div>
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Today the Italians are the 5<sup>th</sup> largest ethnic group in the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> after the Germans, Irish, English and Africans. Thanks to various organizations, such as the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Italian American Heritage Commission </i></b>in New Jersey, the<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> National Italian American Foundation (NIAF)</i></b> in Washington D.C. and </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Casa<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Italiana<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zerilli-Marini New York University, </span></i></b><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Italian culture is florishing in the USA.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-32217910930299115522013-03-04T22:06:00.000-05:002013-03-04T22:06:03.224-05:00Origins of Mafia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWExe3IbIeswYtuLt64Y_LLAbZKIny9a3ib72EpZWOGOib_Wej5pclfLgOt-8WGvXJU4dbY_ePTqcl6kRPFYWsqFjdtL32j3txaV9h8FlXEkSg_otmPePxChniK9L427otnFl5uEWa6B8/s1600/imagesCASO31HX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" jsa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWExe3IbIeswYtuLt64Y_LLAbZKIny9a3ib72EpZWOGOib_Wej5pclfLgOt-8WGvXJU4dbY_ePTqcl6kRPFYWsqFjdtL32j3txaV9h8FlXEkSg_otmPePxChniK9L427otnFl5uEWa6B8/s1600/imagesCASO31HX.jpg" /></a></div>
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The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">MAFIA</b> society is over 600 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It started in 1282 in <st1:city w:st="on">Palermo</st1:city> when <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sicily</st1:place></st1:state> was under French rule. On Easter Monday, during the evening prayer (vespers), a Frenchman harassed a Sicilian girl. I should mention that there are different accounts of the harassment, as to who the woman was, and who the Frenchman was. In fact, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">THE NEW YORK TIMES</b> reported on May 3, 1891, that a beautiful young girl and her fiancé (betrothed) had approached the Church of the Holy Spirit in order to be united in marriage. As the custom dictated the groom went to look for the father of the bride in a room at the back of the church. While the bride was waiting in front, a drunken French sergeant threw his arm around her waist and with the other hand grabbed her breast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The poor girl, overtaken by fear, started to scream and tried to run away.. Unfortunately, her shoe got caught in the crack of a stone pavement and she fell, hitting her head against the corner of the church building. At that very instant her betrothed arrived and, seeing his future wife down and bleeding, took his stiletto and drove it into the assailant’s chest crying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“<span style="color: red;">M</span>orte <span style="color: red;">A</span>lla <span style="color: red;">F</span>rancia <span style="color: red;">I</span>talia <span style="color: red;">A</span>nela.”(</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Death to <st1:country-region w:st="on">France</st1:country-region> is <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Cry). </i>As you can see the word MAFIA is an acronym formed from the first letters of the above Italian phrase. This incident infuriated all Sicilians who started to form secret societies who took up arms against the French who<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>had ruled the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">Kingdom</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Sicily</st1:placename></st1:place> with a very repressive regime since 1266. In fact this insurrection led to the so called <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">War of the Sicilian Vespers</i></b> which ended with their expulsion in 1302<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>with the Treaty of Caltabellotta<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The Mafia in <st1:country-region w:st="on">America</st1:country-region> is believed to have been started by Don Vito Cascio Ferro, who fled to <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> following the murder of a banker in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Sicily</st1:state></st1:place>. In the 1920’s, when Mussolini tried to eradicate the Mafia, many members of the secret society fled to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t surprise me to read that during W.W.II, the Mafia collaborated with the Allies once they landed in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Sicily</st1:state></st1:place>. </div>
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In fact, they freed all anti-Mussolini prisoners including many society members. Once some were placed in positions of power, they started to make deals with politicians. If you look at the present political situation in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Italy</st1:place></st1:country-region> and at the number of politicians accused of corruption, you understand when it all started..</div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-39885862550646287592013-01-19T14:31:00.002-05:002013-01-19T14:31:09.980-05:00Bits and pieces of an article that might whet your curiosity<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">The Amazon</span></b><span lang="EN-CA"> rainforest produces more than 20% of the world's oxygen supply. <br />The Amazon River pushes so much water into the Atlantic Ocean that, more than one hundred miles at sea off the mouth of the river, one can dip fresh water out of the ocean. The volume of water in the Amazon river is greater than the next eight largest rivers in the world combined and three times the flow of all rivers in the United States.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">United States<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Eisenhower Interstate System</b> is a network of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>freeways that is part of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the National Highway System of the United States, and it<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>requires that one mile in every five must be straight and flat. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies. It was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">President Dwight Eisenhower</i> who in 1956 authorized the construction of this highway system by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the Federal Aid Highway Act</i>. </span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">How did this idea come about ? </span></i><span lang="EN-CA">At the end of WWII<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> General Dwight Eisenhower, </i>after surveying the war damage in Germany, was impressed by the durability of the Autobahn (a Federal Expressway System). Since in the 1950’s America feared a nuclear attack from the Russians, Eisenhower decide to provide evacuation routes from the cities.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">The longest interstate is the I-90, which runs from Seattle, Washington, to Boston.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">More than half of the coastline of the entire United States is in Alaska.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">There are no natural lakes in the state of Ohio, everyone is manmade.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">New York City</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The term "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Big Apple"</i> was coined by touring jazz musicians of the 1930s <br />who used the slang expression 'apple' for any town or city. Therefore, to play New York City is to play the big time - The Big Apple. </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">There are more <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Irish</b> in New York City than in Dublin, Ireland; more <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Italians</b> in New York City than in Rome, Italy;<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(N.Y.is home to 3.4 million Italians, which is among the largest concentration in the world after Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Milan and Rome.)</i> and more <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jews</b> in New York City than in Tel Aviv, Israel.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Antarctica</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> is the only land on our planet that is not owned by any country. Ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica. This ice also represents seventy percent of all the fresh water in the world. As strange as it sounds, however, Antarctica is essentially a desert; the average yearly total precipitation is about two inches. <br />Although covered with ice (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all but 0.4% of it is ice</i>.), Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">Canada</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">, the second largest country in the world, has more lakes than the rest of the world combined. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name Canada was first used by Jacques Cartier in 1535.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It derives from an Iroquoian word <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kanata </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>meaning "Big Village".<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">Next to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Warsaw, Chicago</i></b> has the largest Polish population in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Damascus, Syria</span></i></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">, was flourishing a couple of thousand years before Rome was founded in 753 BC, making it the oldest continuously inhabited city in existence</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Istanbul, Turkey</span></b><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">, is the only city in the world located on two continents.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Rome<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">The first city to reach a population of 1 million people was <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rome, Italy</i></b>, in 133 B.C. <br />There is a city called Rome on every continent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">The actual smallest sovereign entity in the world is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sovereign Military Order of Malta,</b> </i>a Roman Catholic religious order. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is located in the city of Rome, Italy, has an area of two tennis courts and, as of 2001, has a population of 80 -- 20 less people than the Vatican.<br />It is a sovereign entity under international law, just as the Vatican is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">.</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Waterfalls</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black;">The water <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Angel Falls</b></i> (the world's highest) in Venezuela drops 3,212 feet (979 meters)- 15 times higher than Niagara Falls</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 8pt; line-height: 115%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I have always said that we learn something new every day. Unfortunately, many of us are at that age where what we learn today, we forget tomorrow. <br />But, give it a shot anyway</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="color: black; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">.</span></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-86402365728742001312013-01-19T13:12:00.001-05:002013-01-19T13:12:36.745-05:00Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-18575714775593974962012-12-16T16:12:00.001-05:002012-12-16T16:12:31.313-05:00Truth will out Part II<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmywQ50gpYBGAWHk3YX9U27a0rc639usO2jntbW9_2P8oCCwpI73evV6Xrfj7sHX9fQULDRc08O6RfNsfEUu1TO_kstf_CqK_lFekv340PRhDDBaSxqeb5tnBUInwJB2HfgTTySPT5c8/s1600/imagesCALKKCHY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bea="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmywQ50gpYBGAWHk3YX9U27a0rc639usO2jntbW9_2P8oCCwpI73evV6Xrfj7sHX9fQULDRc08O6RfNsfEUu1TO_kstf_CqK_lFekv340PRhDDBaSxqeb5tnBUInwJB2HfgTTySPT5c8/s1600/imagesCALKKCHY.jpg" /></a></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Did the Nazis invent the Swastika and the Concentration Camps?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a false assumption as this symbol was used by various ancient cultures in <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">India</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and others. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Originally it had a positive meaning until the Nazi regime adopted it as its emblem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the concentration camps<span style="color: red;">,</span> they were invented by the English during the Boer War in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">South Africa</st1:country-region></st1:place> (1899-1902) where over 40 thousand perished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1915-16 Turkish nationalists organized a genocide campaign against the Armenian people and<span style="color: red;"> </span>killed over 800 thousand of them. Hitler must have been inspired by this genocide which led him to the creation of large-scale gas chambers which were used to incinerate six millions Jews.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">7) Was the Catholic Church wrong in blaming the Jewish people as a whole for condemning Jesus to death? </i></div>
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It is ironic to think that Mary, Jesus and all the apostles were Hebrews. Many commentators had, over the years, urged the Church to establish the historical truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally in 1986<span style="color: red;">,</span> Pope John Paul II, during his historical visit to the Synagogue of Rome, clearly stated that no fault could be attributed to the Jews living at that time and to those of today. Pope Benedict XVI, in his book “Jesus of Nazareth” reasserts now the same idea expressed by Pope Vojtyla, thus freeing the Jewish people from the accusation of killing Jesus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this an <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>atonement or a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“mea culpa”?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>8) Did Marconi invent the radio that he patented in England in <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1895?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was the first to carry out a wireless intercontinental transmission in 1903 from a station located in Massachusetts carrying an exchange between Theodore Roosevelt and King Edward VII.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However in 1943 the American Supreme Court overturned Marconi’s patent by crediting Nikola Tesla with being the first person to patent radio technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tesla was born in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Croatia</st1:country-region> in 1856 and studied electrical engineering in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Austria</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He emigrated to the <st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region> in 1889 and died (a pauper) in New York City in 1943.</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You might like to know that the tesla is used as the unit of the strength of a magnetic field.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">9) Did<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eve<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>really offer Adam an apple?</i></div>
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The Bible doesn’t specify what kind of fruit it was. Many commentators think that it was a fruit from a fig tree because<span style="color: red;">,</span> as soon as Adam and Eve noticed that they were naked<span style="color: red;">,</span> they sewed together fig leaves and made girdles <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to cover themselves. Only in Medieval times was the tree linked to the apple, maybe because of the similarity of the Latin sound “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">malum” </i>which refers to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">evil</i> as well as to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">apple</i>. The acceptance of the apple became quite popular in such linguistic expressions as “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adam’s apple</i>”, a protrusion in front of the neck that, according to a legend, came about when a piece of this fruit got stuck in his throat causing a lump. The apple is used as a symbol of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">N.Y.</i></st1:placename><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype></i></st1:place><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (Big Apple).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apple</i> is the logo and name of a computer company that nowadays produces iPhones, iPads and iPods, in addition to laptop computers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Snow White</i> died of a poisoned apple. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">William Tell</i> placed an apple on his son’s head that he pierced with an arrow.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>9) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Were there animals at the original nativity scene of Jesus?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pope Benedict XVI, in his new book “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jesus of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Nazareth</st1:city></st1:place>: The Infancy Narratives” </i>says that the Christians have it all wrong as there were no angels<span style="color: red;">,</span> no donkeys, no oxen and definitely no carols beside the crib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact he writes that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">In the gospels there is no mention of animals</i>”. Therefore, according to Benedict XVI<span style="color: red;">,</span> they should not appear in the crib.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">10) Was Santa Claus always dressed in red and white?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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The image of Santa Claus dressed in red and white was created in the 1930’s by Coca-Cola, as the Company was looking for ways to increase sales.</div>
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In Charles Dickens’ “Christmas Carol”<span style="color: red;">,</span> Santa is described as having a green robe and a red beard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many English speaking countries outside the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand<span style="color: red;">,</span> he is known as Father Christmas, in Italy as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Babbo Natale</i>, in France as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Père Noël</i>, in Spanish speaking countries <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Papá Noël, San Nicolás or even Santa Claus.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">11)</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Who really discovered <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>? The Vikings, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Christopher Columbus, or <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Amerigo Vespucci</i>? </div>
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This is a controversial question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is evidence that the Vikings were the first to land on the northeastern shores of <st1:place w:st="on">North America</st1:place> and to make contact with the Indians. Leif Ericson landed in <st1:state w:st="on">Newfoundland</st1:state>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Canada</st1:place></st1:country-region>, around 1000 A.D. He set up a colony there called <st1:place w:st="on">Vinland</st1:place>, but he abandoned it after a year or two. As for <st1:city w:st="on">Columbus</st1:city> we all learned at school that “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in 1492 Columbus</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sailed the ocean blue</i>” and ever since he was given credit for discovering <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vespucci’s great contribution was to tell Europe that the land that <st1:city w:st="on">Columbus</st1:city> had found was not the Orient (Asia) but a New World which was later called <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region> in honour of Amerigo Vespucci.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-70425009481325519972012-12-03T21:08:00.000-05:002012-12-03T21:08:20.743-05:00Truth will out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRp9GxkmvioeaJME4ni9tFTJtQQaoFbVC0D8f_XP6HA2gbZbxkhrKa5V4H-Ts_MQQBw0pTAOtbAUyU5YvZtLF-IFF0yHPTY8kTb7YK3A8FdqLl3PQzccDMYRbrBe9avnXhwolZzUA0D4g/s1600/imagesCA0MZTO2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRp9GxkmvioeaJME4ni9tFTJtQQaoFbVC0D8f_XP6HA2gbZbxkhrKa5V4H-Ts_MQQBw0pTAOtbAUyU5YvZtLF-IFF0yHPTY8kTb7YK3A8FdqLl3PQzccDMYRbrBe9avnXhwolZzUA0D4g/s1600/imagesCA0MZTO2.jpg" tea="true" /></a></div>
Part I<br />
<br />
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As this proverb states the truth cannot be concealed indefinitely as it will eventually come to light. Here are some historical lies that we have been led to believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is due to the fact that in the old times historians never verified the facts, mainly because the rich and powerful had absolute control of everything, while modern historians use a more scientific method to get to the truth.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Were the Pyramids really built by slaves</i>?<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Contrary to popular belief modern historians have now discovered that the pyramid builders were local people, Egyptians who received a regular salary for their work, and not slaves or foreigners. After the construction of the pyramids these workers were involved in the construction of monumental tombs. How did this belief come about? Some say that it is the fault of Greek historians who couldn’t imagine that such edifices could be built without using masses of slaves.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Did Galileo say “And yet it does move (Eppur si muove)”in reference to the earth moving around the sun?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Experts say that it is unlikely that he muttered it as it would have been extremely dangerous to say so in front of the Inquisition, knowing that a few years before<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Giordano Bruno,</i> a Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician and astronomer, was burned at the stake for espousing the heliocentric theory of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Copernicus. Galileo</i> was advised by the church to talk about his ideas as a theory and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not as a fact. However, in his 1632 new book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dialogue <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>on the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Great World Systems </i>he sided with Copernicanism , by ridiculing the Aristotelians for embracing the Ptolemaic theory which was accepted by the Church.</div>
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Because of this he was called to Rome in 1633 to face the Inquisition , and after 18 days of interrogation he was imprisoned <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>until <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he died in 1642.</div>
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In 1989 the first spacecraft launched by NASA, to probe Jupiter, was named Galileo, in honour of the astronomer Galileo Galilei. Finally, once that the notion of the earth revolving around the stationary sun could not be disputed any more, Pope John Paul II, in 1992, acknowledged publicly that the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Vatican</st1:place></st1:country-region> had made an error in convicting Galileo.</div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”</i></div>
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Is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">President Kennedy</i> the originator of this quote? Kennedy used <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it at his inaugural address in1961. Although he did not take credit for the quote<span style="color: red;">,</span> people attribute it to him. The original quote comes from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marcus Tullius Cicero, </i>a successful lawyer and statesman and one of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city></st1:place>’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>greatest orator.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Was Alexander Graham Bell the inventor of the telephone?</i></div>
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The real inventor was the Italian Antonio Meucci. He was living in Cuba when he discovered that sounds <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>can travel through copper wire. In 1850 he moved to the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region></st1:place> to continue his research <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and in 1860 he conducted a public demonstration of his invention. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Meucci couldn’t afford the $ 250 fee to take out a patent <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so he sent a model with the technical specifications to the Western Union telegraph company, but was unable to meet the senior executive of the company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two years later, Alexander Graham Bell, who was working in the laboratory with Meucci, paid for a patent for the telephone and made a deal with <st1:place w:st="on">Western Union</st1:place> that made him a lot of money. Antonio Meucci sued <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bell</st1:place></st1:city>. In 1889, when it looked<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like Meucci may win the case, he died and the court case stopped. Ever since <span style="color: red;">,</span> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Bell</st1:city></st1:place> has been known as the inventor of the telephone. However, in 2002, 113 years after Meucci’s death, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the American Congress recogni<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">z</b>ed</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">officially that it was Meucci and not <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Bell</st1:place></st1:city> who invented the telephone. <o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7pt 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Was President G.W. Bush justified in attacking <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iraq</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 2003?</i></div>
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Certainly not, as it is common knowledge now that Saddam did <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not participate in the attack of 9/11 nor did he possess WMD (weapons of mass destruction) as the President<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had claimed.</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.25in; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;">
Bush was determined to eliminate Saddam at any cost by avoiding diplomacy and by forging Intelligence documents, he led the USA into a war under false pretenses.</div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-29267256400934878682012-10-27T20:57:00.000-04:002012-10-27T20:57:15.402-04:00Trip to Italy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZTgnKVDmBN_CCjBJ63egq8a6Qcb7JUuzePFzwRpx3JLz_E4jqy0TheWh4dI3aziWnfrFLbrw6FPyTN4cz_iYiaN8FeGCwUxsrCcrHvFrsTaN74WHshmiaO0ziGS2mY7u6UF2fHVEWF4/s1600/trevi2%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEZTgnKVDmBN_CCjBJ63egq8a6Qcb7JUuzePFzwRpx3JLz_E4jqy0TheWh4dI3aziWnfrFLbrw6FPyTN4cz_iYiaN8FeGCwUxsrCcrHvFrsTaN74WHshmiaO0ziGS2mY7u6UF2fHVEWF4/s320/trevi2%5B1%5D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I'd like to share with you
some of the amazing things that I discovered during my trip to Italy. </div>
Of the many historical sites
visited four really stood out : <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Trevi
Fountain (Fontana di Trevi), St. John Lateran Basilica,(Basilica di San Giovanni
in Laterano), The Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere (Santa Maria in
Trastevere), and The Nuraghe in Sardinia. <o:p></o:p></i><br />
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trevi Fountain<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
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It was built in 1735, stands 26 m high and is 20 m
wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the most <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>famous fountain in Rome.</div>
It is difficult to get a shot
of the fountain without a stranger in the picture, on account of the
crowds of people coming from all over the world, taking pictures of the
fountain at every hour of the day and night. According to the traditional <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>legend the throwing of one coin into the
fountain will guarantee a return trip to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
Eternal City</i>. A newer story says that throwing <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>two coins will lead to a new romance, while
three coins will ensure either a marriage or a divorce. Don't forget to toss a
coin with your right hand and cross it over the left shoulder, with your back
to the fountain, then <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>make your wish and
throw it into the fountain. <br />
Apparently tourists throw in approximately
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>120 000 Euros a year. The money is
mostly donated to a charity that gives food to poor people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since there have been attempts to steal the
money from the fountain the police now guard it 24 hours a day.<br />
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The fountain is built at the
junction of 3 roads hence the name <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trevi
(Trivium or tre vie</i>). It was here that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fellini </i>filmed some scenes for the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La Dolce Vita</i> starring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg.</i>
The fountain was turned off and draped in black when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">M. Mastroianni </i>died in 1996.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The fountain was also used for some scene in the 1953 film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Roman Holiday</i> starring <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Audrey
Hepburn and Gregory Peck.</i> Part of the film is replicated at the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Italian Pavillion at Epcot in Walt Disney World,
Florida, USA.</i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Trevi Fountain </i>is at the end of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> the Aqua Virgo (</i>Acqua<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">
Vergine) </i>an acqueduct constructed in<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>19 B.C. It brings water to
Rome<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Salone Springs </i>22 Km away. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Three Coins in The Fountain </i>is a 1954 American romantic comedy
film, a story of 3 American women working in Rome and dreaming of finding
romance in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eternal City.</i> In 1955
this film was given two <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Academy Awards
for Best Song and Best Cinematography.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">St. John<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lateran<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Basilica <o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
This is the cathedral church
of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diocese of Rome</i>. It was built
in 318 A.D. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">by Constantine I. </i>This church war rebuilt at
least 3 times on account of 2 destructive fires and an earthquake. It's one of the most important
of the 4 main Basilicas and it ranks 4th of 524 attractions in Rome.<br />
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">San Giovanni in Laterano</i> is the largest church in Rome, since <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">St Peter's is in the state of Vatican. </i>It
is<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>30 m by 54 m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The interior of the church is richly decorated with 7 silver altars and
more than hundred chandeliers. What a sight to see here! On both sides of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the center aisle are larger than life marble
statues of the 12 apostles. Just outside the church there is an octagonal
baptistry<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which was for many generations
the only one in Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This basilica is a
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">must see </i>for anyone going to
Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember that here you don't have
to queue up.<br />
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere </i>is one of the oldest churches
dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Rome. It is the 5th most important church in
Rome. Construction started in 221 A.D. and completed in 352. I was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>fascinated by the paintings that adorn the
entire ceiling and walls. Mass is usually said in the chapels found on both
sides of the church.</div>
The mosaic designs that adorn
the floor are absolutely impressive. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interior
decorations are <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stunning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The church is in a quiet neighborhood called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trastevere, </i>name that derives from the
Latin<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> 'Trans Tiber" i.e. across
(beyond )the Tiber, </i>a river that crosses Rome. Here you can go for a walk
along the river and admire the architecture of the buildings on both sides of
the river. Today <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trastevere </i>is also
known for its night life and for its narrow streets full of pubs, restaurants
and clubs<br />
I strongly
recommend visiting this church.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nauraghe Civilization (Sardinia)<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p> </o:p></i></b></div>
<br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter">
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0">
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1">
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth">
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight">
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1">
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<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth">
</v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas></v:stroke></v:shapetype></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Th</i>is was my first visit to Sardinia (it.Sardegna) which impressed
me not only for the beauty of its beaches and the colours of the water, but
most of all for the discovery of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuragic
Civilization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>I say discovery
because I was aware of the influence of the Greek and Roman civilizations but I
had never read or heard of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuragic
Culture </i>which reached Sardinia almost 2000 years before the Roman. The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nuraghe edifice </i>that you see is an
ancient conical stone edifice that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dates
back to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>18-15 BC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Today it has come to be the symbol of
Sardinia and its distinctive culture, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuragic.
</i>This word is related to the Sardinian <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nurra<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>(heap of stones).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact the round wall is being held by the
weight of its stones<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>which may each
amount to several tons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuraghes can reach up to 20 m in height.</i>
An interior stone spiral stair, through the thick walls, leads to the upper
floors and to the terrace above. As reported by some prehistoric scholars, the
architecture produced by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuragic
civilization </i>was more advanced than any civilization in the western
Mediterranean during this period (epoch).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The most imposing and best preserved Nuraghe is the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nuraghe Sant'Antine </i>near the village of<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Torralba<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>in the province
of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sassari.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Experts don't seem to agree on the use of
the nuraghes, whether they were ordinary dwellings, military strongholds, religious temples or a combination of them
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-64878645455562422422012-08-22T16:09:00.000-04:002012-08-22T16:10:35.439-04:00Origins of Fear<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQATbQR_3lK7IdcbnOyOBCOF2qP8cFnifIMJmXCj242K9usmRCeuq9uGsR2tyucrS0a_J2nwhvfJpO6hWuKWYQikd4uR2erYpwqwb9ohBDixf3on7klHwvXAlkHX24L51BWP2AEFfRVjM/s1600/images%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQATbQR_3lK7IdcbnOyOBCOF2qP8cFnifIMJmXCj242K9usmRCeuq9uGsR2tyucrS0a_J2nwhvfJpO6hWuKWYQikd4uR2erYpwqwb9ohBDixf3on7klHwvXAlkHX24L51BWP2AEFfRVjM/s1600/images%5B1%5D.jpg" yda="true" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Times of crisis, such as <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the present economic and financial crises,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>cause<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>greater uncertainty and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>set a very fertile ground for these irrational beliefs of fears and superstitions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No wonder <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>there is an increasing number of people who believe in superstitions. Most superstitions have to do with luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all have the need to know what luck will bring us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did we do wrong to bring<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>doom crashing on our heads?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the world is superstitious in one way or another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some don't admit it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Omens and signs indicate what the future might hold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Red sky at night, sailors delight" </i>indicates a fine day weather wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning" </i>indicates bad stormy weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"cross your fingers " </i>for luck,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">avoid stepping under ladders"</i> to avoid bad luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These actions of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>superstitious persons are intended to protect them from dangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">A bird flying into your house or a picture falling from the wall might mean the death of a family member. Instead,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>if your palm itches you will soon be receiving money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">You<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like this one, don't you?</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did the belief of a black cat crossing the street bringing bad luck originate?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are various explanations .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some say that black cats are associated with the darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others say that it is due to our ancestors' fear of the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among all the different stories , the most plausible one is the fact that in the past it was very difficult to see a black cat at night as there were no street lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very often horses would get scared on account of the sudden appearance of a black cat, thus causing the carriage , together with the horseman, to overturn (tip over).</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Notice the horseshoe in my title is turned up, that's so <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your luck doesn't run out while visiting my pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Most superstitions have historical origins thus it's possible to give a rational explanation of their popularity (diffusion). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the 5th century B.C. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thucydides</i>, the greatest Greek historian, wrote that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fear was the cause of all aggressions</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sparta </i>attacked <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Athens </i>which was about to become one of the most powerful state, thus causing the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">30 year Peloponnesian War. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Aristotle</span></i><span lang="EN-CA"> said that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Fear is the cause of evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all fear evil like shame, poverty, sickness, death, lack of friends."</i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Today we too fear diseases like cancer, aids, which are the modern equivalent of the Medieval fears of leprosy, syphilis, plague. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some think that fear has given birth to many religions. In fact when <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Adam </i>found <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>himself naked, after eating from the tree of knowledge, he was overtaken by fear before shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's fair to say that every epoch has its fears: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear of the collapse of the economy in 1929, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">fear of the spread of communism in the ‘50’s. This was the period of horror films: “Psycho” of A. Hitchcock in 1960, “The Exorcist</i>” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">in 1973, “Jaws” in 1975.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The XXI century brought us <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">H1N1 or swine flu ,</i>the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">H5N1 known as the bird flu</i> together with the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">West Nile virus and the Lyme disease</i> are now coming back and scaring many people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Thomas Hobbes</i>, English philosopher, it was the mistrust among men "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Homo homini lupus"</i>(man is a wolf toward the other man) that made necessary the creation of social hierarchies such as the state which had to be founded on the fear of death and punishment.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Machiavelli</i>, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the prince<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>had to be feared more than loved</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fear protected primitive people from wild animals, weather storms, diseases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">I couldn't agree more with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bertrand Russell</i> who wrote: "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fear is the first source</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">of superstitions and cruelty."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">Over centuries the effects of these fears have been amplified and used by governments in order to keep social order as well as to promote an attack<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>as a defensive act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This same strategy was used by the US president, George W. Bush, in order to create a consensus to attack Iraq under the guise of a preventive war after 9/11. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">In short, fear has always influenced human decisions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, to paraphrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">President Roosevelt,"what we have most to fear is fear itself."<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">PS. </span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">I'll be away for the month of September.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-17649844294543356092012-06-18T14:56:00.000-04:002012-06-18T14:58:56.101-04:00Beliefs, Fears and Superstitions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-CA">Superstitions are irrational beliefs and a lot of them have Latin origins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tuesday, among the Romans , was considered a very unlucky day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a Roman tradition to distinguish between <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"dies fasti</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">" ( lucky days ) and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"dies nefasti"</b>(unlucky days).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The number<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> 13 </i>is considered an unlucky number in some countries as it reminds them of the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Last Supper</i> with 13 people around the table. Some claim that Judas Iscariot sat at the 13th place . In the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Anglo-Saxon world</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Friday the 13th </i>is the unluckiest day of the month. As a result many buildings don't have a 13th floor .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Apollo 13</i></b> was the only unsuccessful mission to the moon and the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">explosion </i>occurred on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">April 13, 1970. </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tragedy of the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Costa Concordia</i></b> happened the night between the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">13th and 14th of January 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adam and Eve </i>were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Noah's flood<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>started on a Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">For Spain and Latin American countries</i> Tuesday the 13th<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is a day of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mala suerte (bad luck). </i>I should mention that Friday the 13th , has long been considered lucky in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Judaism .</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Italian culture</i> the number 17, and not 13, is considered unlucky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The number 17 is viewed as the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roman numeral<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>XVII and then changed anagrammatically to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">VIXI , </i></b>perfect tense of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the Latin<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>verb "vivere" (to live), </i>which translates to "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I have lived" </i>implying <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"my life is over".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>Furthermore<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, if Friday 17 comes in November,</i> that is the unluckiest day of all, because November 2 is all souls day. When that happens, November is called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"the month of the deceased".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The Italians go to a great extent to avoid the number 17, in fact the Italian airline, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alitalia, </i>does not have a seat 17. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Renaud, </i>the auto French Co., sold its <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"R17" model in Italy as "R177".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gabriele D'Annunzio, </i>famous Italian writer, would never date a letter day 13, he would instead use "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">12+1". </i>In Italy and most European countries there is widespread conviction that seeing a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">black cat crossing a street</i> brings bad luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">UK </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>black cats are a sign of good luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">North America,</i> it's considered bad luck if a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">black cat</i> crosses your path and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">good luck if the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>cat is white. </i>If you live in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Germany </i>you probably believe that if a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">black cat crosses your path from left to right is bad omen, but from right to left will bring favourable times. </i>It's bad to walk under a ladder, but we knock on wood, cross our fingers and bless a person for sneezing, to ward off bad luck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">talians touch iron, </i>and not wood,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>for protection, or they show the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">horned hand (corna) </i>which consists in using the thumb to hold<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>down the middle and ring fingers, then extend the index finger and the pinkie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Great men and their Fears</span></i></span></span> </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Caesar </span></i><span lang="EN-CA">feared insects and spiders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Caesar Augustus</i> had an obsessive fear of darkness, in fact he always wanted a servant next to him every night, so he could light a candle in case he would wake up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also suffered from anxiety attack during storms.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alexander the Great</i> was afraid of being alone in the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Napoleon </i>feared cats.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Stalin</span></i><span lang="EN-CA"> feared of being killed in a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"coup d'état".<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hitler </i>was<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>claustrophobic<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Churchill </span></i><span lang="EN-CA">was afraid of dirt that's why he would spend lot time in the bathtub.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Lincoln feared beautiful women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mussolini</span></i><span lang="EN-CA"> was afraid of bacteria and microbes, and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to avoid a handshake, which he considered <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>anti-hygienic, they say he instituted the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Roman Salute</i> (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Saluto Romano), </i>gesture in which the right arm is held out forward straight with palm down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1942 <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">President Roosevelt </i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>instituted the hand over the heart<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as the salute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for fear , in his first inaugural speech he said : "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">All we have to fear is fear itself." </i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pablo Picasso, </span></i><span lang="EN-CA">whose paintings were a masterpiece, was terrified by the fear of becoming poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alfred Hitchcock</i> would get into a cold sweat at the very sight of an egg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Michael Jackson </i>was terrorized by the fear of germs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Natalie Wood, who feared water, </i>died by drowning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Marilyn Monroe </i>had a fear of public or open places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Madonna is scared of something that she can neither see nor feel </i>and that is thunder.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">PS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll be taking a summer hiatus, I like to wish you all a safe and happy summer.</span></i></div>
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<br /></div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-71045118935173679832012-05-26T22:27:00.000-04:002012-05-26T22:27:00.124-04:00Latin and the Romance languages<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Latin and the Romance Languages</b></div>
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Those of you who have either read my Multilingual Anthology of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>proverbs, sayings, clichés and idiomatic expressions, or read my articles on this blog, know that my research is geared toward the three most widely spoken Romance languages: Spanish, French and Italian respectively.</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spanish</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">with 330 million native speakers and 417 million second language speakers, French with 70 million native speakers and 110 million second language speakers, Italian with 62 million native speakers and 60 million as a second language speakers. </i>All the Romance languages developed from Latin in the 6<sup>th</sup> to 9<sup>th</sup> century. Latin was born in the 5<sup>th</sup> century B.C. and was the tongue of farmers who lived at the mouth of the Tiber. </div>
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I should mention that the Romance languages, in order of speakers, is made up of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, Catalan and many others, and there are 800 million native speakers worldwide.</i></div>
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After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5<sup>th</sup> century Vulgar Latin evolved into individual Romance tongues. No wonder all these Romance languages have many similar features, both in grammar and vocabulary. The difference between them is mainly phonetical.</div>
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The first text in French appeared in the 9<sup>th</sup> century, in Spanish and Italian in the 10<sup>th</sup> century. In Italy many prominent writers and poets used vernacular of their own accord. One of the most famous is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dante Alighieri (1265-1321).</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Latin and its Influence on the English Language.</i></b></div>
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We might not study Latin but we continue<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to spice our English language,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>like salt and pepper, with Latin words or phrases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Caesar landed in Britain there was no English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Modern English has imported words from over 350 languages around the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No wonder David Crystal, famous linguist, defines English a vacuum-cleaner of a language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A significant part of the English vocabulary, about 65%, comes from Latin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes the Latin word is identical to English, at other times it has been adapted. </div>
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Here is a brief list of Latin<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>words that are now part of our everyday English vocabulary: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">addenda, ad infinitum, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>affidavit, agenda, alma mater, alter ego, auditorium, aurora borealis (australis), bonus, campus, fetus, habeas corpus, in absentia, in vitro, memorandum, millennium, nucleus, pandemonium, penis, per capita, persona non grata, podium, post partum, premium, quorum, referendum, senior, solarium, stadium, status quo, terminus, vertebra, viceversa, villa, virus, etc. etc.</i></div>
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Think of the abbreviations for Latin phrases that we often use: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A.D. (anno domini), A.M. (ante meridiem), P.M. (post meridiem, C.V.(curriculum vitae), P.S. (post scriptum), i.e. (id est), e.g.(exempli gratia). What about B.A., M.A. Cum Laude, Magna cum laude and Summa cum laude ?</i></div>
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As you can see Latin has had a great influence on our medical, academic, legal and scientific terminology.</div>
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Let’s not forget that Latin quotes and phrases as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Amor caecus est”(Love is blind</i>) that we use regularly today were coined by Roman writers such as </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Virgil : “Amor vincit omnia”(Love conquers all),</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Audentis fortuna iuvat”(Fortune favours the brave),</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cicero : “Dum vita est, spes est”(While there is life there is hope),</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Non ut edam vivo sed ut vivam edo”(Eat to live not live to eat).</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Juvenal : “Mens sana in corpore sano” (A sound mind in a sound body).</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Horace :<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Carpe diem”(Seize the day).</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;">Julius Caesar : “Veni, vidi, vici”(I came, I saw , I conquered).</span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="IT" style="mso-ansi-language: IT;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>“Alia iacta est”(The die is cast).</i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ovid :<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Credula res amor est” (In love you believe anything).</i></div>
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Ovid , author of many books, wrote <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Ars amandi”(The Art of Love)</i></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where he cites how to pick up women at the gladiators shows.</div>
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There is no doubt that contributions of the classical Latin to the world have been many. Here is a list of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Latin <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mottos</i> of various states and universities<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in USA and Canada.</div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">USA : A pluribus unum.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Arizona: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ditat Deu</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Colorado: Nil sine Lumine</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">District of Columbia: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Iustitia omnibus.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Kansas: Ad astra per aspera.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Missouri: Salus popoli suprema lex esto.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif";">New York: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Excelsior.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif";">Oklahoma: Labor omnia vincit.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">South Carolina: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dum spiro, spero</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Columbia University: In lumine tuo videbimus lumen.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Harvard University: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Veritas.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Notre Dame University:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Crux spes unica.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Princeton University: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dei sub</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">numine viget.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Yale University: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Lux et veritas.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif";">Latin Mottos for Canada, some Provinces and Universities:</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Canada: A mari usque ad mare.</span></div>
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<span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR-CA;">Alberta: Fortis et liber.</span></div>
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<span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR-CA;">Manitoba:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gloriosus et liber.</i></span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Ontario: Ut incepit fidelis sic permanet.</span></div>
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<span lang="IT" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: IT;">Concordia University : <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Concordia salus.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif";">McGill University : Grandescunt aucta labore.</span></div>
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<span lang="FR-CA" style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: FR-CA;">Université de Montréal : Fide splendet et scientia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Amaze", "sans-serif";">University of Toronto : <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Velut arbor aevo.</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-42042635294339712302012-04-24T21:44:00.000-04:002012-04-26T11:11:00.336-04:00Amusing Idiomatic Phrases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There is no doubt that some entries are quite humorous, others represent everyday phrases. In North America we all say that the weather can be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">hot as hell </i>some days and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cold as hell</i> another. A feeble-minded person often <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">sticks his neck out</i> or maybe <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">shoots his mouth off. </i>I should mention that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">English muffins </i>were not invented in England nor <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">French fries in France. It </i>seems that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>North Americans called these fried potato strips <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">French fries </i>because they were popularized by French immigrants. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">French toast</i> was not invented in France because it was around before France became a country, in fact it dates back to 4<sup>th</sup> century Imperial Rome where it was called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pan dulcis</i>. Before being called<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> French toast </i>the French called it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pain à la Romaine.</i> In France is presently know as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pain perdu, </i>in Quebec as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pain doré. </i>The name <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">French toast</i> first appeared in print in 1871. Let’s have some fun with these Spanish idiomatic phrases:<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Estar vivo y coleando (To be alive and wagging your tail)</i> which corresponds to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To be alive and kicking”. Hay muchos modos de matar pulgas(There are many ways to kill fleas) </i>which is equivalent to<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“There is more than one way to skin a cat”. </i>What a splendid Spanish way <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to be daydreaming, i.e. Estar bailando en Belén (to be dancing in Bethlehem).</i>Obviously one can also dream by being in the clouds or on the moon. This next one gives me a confortable feeling “ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to be loaded with cash” </i>but the Spanish one gives me a much warmer feeling “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tener más lana que un borrego”(to have more wool than a lamb). “To throw money down the drain</i>” becomes <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Tirar el dinero por la ventana”(<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Throw money out of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the window).</i></div>
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All the idiomatic expressions mentioned so far are from the Spanish used in Spain, I like to introduce you to some Latin-American linguistic peculiarities. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“To kick the bucket”</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> in </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nicaragua</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> one peels the garlic,</i>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">El Salvador</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> he ties up his bundle.</i> In <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Venezuela</b> you’re not <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">A fish out of the water”</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">but a cockroach at a chicken dance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The next set of idioms really intrigues me<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as each country gives a different version. Our<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>North American expression<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> “To play hooky</b> or <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">to cut the class”</b>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mexico</i></b> becomes<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Pintar venado (to paint venison), In </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Venezuela</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Hacer la vaca</i> “ (to make the cow), in<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Perú </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Hacer vaquilla</i>” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(to make the calf),in</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> Argentina & Uruguay </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Hacerse la rata”, </i>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ecuador </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Echarse la pera”</i>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Chile </b>“Hacer la chancha<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (choca)”</i>in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Colombia</b> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Capar clase”,</i> in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Spain </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Hacer novillos”. </i>The following expressions, reported by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Suzanne Brock, </i>leave me perplexed and dumbfound : <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“To play dumb”</b>in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spain “Hacerse el sueco”(to</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">play the Swede)</i>, in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Bolivia</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> one plays the Italian, </i>a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Colombian </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">plays the English man </i>while a <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mexican</b> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">plays the duck.</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, an idiom is a linguistic expression in which the total is not equal to the sum of its parts.</div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-25115356096024643182012-03-23T21:29:00.000-04:002012-03-23T21:29:35.272-04:00Idiomatic Idiosyncrasies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">I’m fascinated by the eccentricities of idiomatic expressions of the various languages that I write about. As peculiar as these expressions may seem many of our English idioms are equally strange. Who would ever think that dust can be bitten, words can be minced and that kicking the bucket is lethal. Secrets are analogous to cats in bags. Guns can be jumped. I must admit that at times I struggle with them, but once I master them they give me a great joy and satisfaction. Although their origins are not always clear many reflect their home nations by offering us a unique taste of their respective cultures. Moreover they are fun to use as they elicit a giggle or two, thus lightening the mood of a conversation. While foreign expressions can be startling let’s not forget how weird our idioms are. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Spain<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the phrase <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Tener un cocodrilo en el bolsillo” </b>i.e.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">to have a crocodile in the pocket </i>refers to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">a stingy person</i>. I suppose having a crocodile in the pocket wouldn’t allow you to put your hand there and look for your wallet<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. A dirty old man</i> becomes <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Un viejo verde”</b>a green old man in Spanish. For English speakers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence”, </i>while for the Spaniards <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“La gallina del vicino pone mas huevos que la mia”, </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">i.e. the neighbour’s hen lays more eggs than mine.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To make a kill" </i>corresponds to the Spanish<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> “Hacer su agosto”</b>literally <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to make your August</i>, because after the harvest farmers would sell their crops and rake in lot of money. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“Cuando las ranas críen pelos”</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> i.e. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">when<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the frogs<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>grow hair</i> which is equivalent to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When hell freezes over. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">English speakers <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wouldn't want to be in someone else's shoes </i>while the Spaniards stick to skin by saying<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"No quisiera estar en su pellejo"</b>, i.e.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wouldn't want to be in your skin.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">We might sometimes scream when we <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Hit the ceiling", </i>while the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spaniards scream at the sky</i> by saying <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"Poner el grito en el ciel". </b>While we say : <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"It's neither fish nor fowl"</i>the Spanish idiom talks about liquor made from fermented maize when they say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">: "No es ni chicha ni limonada"</b>i.e.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It's neither corn liquor nor lemonade</i>). Take the English expression "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There is room for one more"</i>the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spanish idiom is more precise and expressive <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"Donde comen seis, comen siete" </b>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">where six can eat, seven can eat).</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To pull one’s leg” </i>corresponds to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Tomar el pelo”(</b>To take someone by the hair)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">While foreign expressions can be startling let’s not forget how weird our idioms are. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">How did these phrases find their way into these languages? Why do we use such strange or poetic images to convey simple concepts ?</span></div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-68448916133650158012012-02-17T11:56:00.000-05:002012-02-17T11:56:26.108-05:00More Eccentric Italian Idioms<br />
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Idiomatic phrases celebrate the colourful imagery of a language thus becoming a language within a language. Foreign expressions can be quite revealing as they give us some insights into the life, customs and beliefs of the people using this language.</div>
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Here are some Italians expressions that describe a Turk sitting crossed-legged on the floor, with a drink in one hand, a cigarette in the other, and with swear or curse words coming from his mouth: “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sedere alla Turca”</b>(to sit like a Turk) i.e. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To sit cross-legged”; </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Bere come un Turco” (</b>to drink like a Turk) “ i.e.”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To drink like a fish”; <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“</b></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Fumare come un Turco”</b>( to smoke like a Turk) i.e. “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To smoke like a chimney”, </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Bestemmiare come un<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turco” </b>(to swear like a Turk) i.e, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To swear like a trooper.”</i></div>
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As mentioned <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in a previous article the letter <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">H, </b>pronounced <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">acca, </b>is one of the 21 letters of the Italian alphabet. What I find strange about this letter is that the beginning <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">h </i></b>is never pronounced and that the number of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Italian</i> words starting with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">h </b>can be counted on one hand. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">H</b> is mainly used together with <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">c </b>as in “<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">che (</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">what)</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>pronounced as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">k, chiesa (</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">church</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">)</b>. No wonder the Italians say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Non vale un’acca”( </b>it’s not worth an h) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>meaning <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It’s worthless (useless)!”</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"></b></div>
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Here are a few popular Italian expressions involving the number <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">4: “Non dire quattro se non l’hai nel sacco”(</b>don’t say four unless you have it in the bag) which is equivalent to our <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“</b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched,” </i>and while we say “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I gave him a piece of my mind,” </i>the Italians would say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Gliene ho dette quattro,”</b>(I told him four); our English phrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To raise hell or a stink”</i>corresponds to <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Fare il diavolo a quattro”, </b>and while we like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To have a chat” </i>the Italians love to<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> “Fare quattro chiacchiere” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(</i></b>to have four words).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Campa cavallo che l’erba cresce!” </b>(live horse, as the grass will grow)<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">, </b>this expression has a touch of irony as things won’t always go well as expressed by the corresponding English phrase <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“That’ll be the day!”. </i>When somebody fails to achieve something the Italians say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Fare un buco nell’acqua” </b>(to make a whole in the water) that is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“To draw a blank.” </i>The expression <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Buona notte ai suonatori” (</b>good night to the players<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">)or “La festa è finita”</b> (the party is over) are<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>similar to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“That’s that.”</i></div>
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l’<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">oca (</b>goose) is not considered too intelligent, hence <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Non fare l’oca” </b>means <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Don’t be silly”</i>and<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“Oca giuliva” i.e. “</b>Silly goose<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">”, </b></i>nowadays is actually used to mean <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Dumb blonde.” “ </i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Non fare il coniglio” </b>(don’t behave like a rabbit, that is don’t be timid or scared) is equivalent to our “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Don’t chicken out.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>/</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">”L’ultimo ad arrivare fu Gambacorta”(</b>the last to arrive was Shortleg) gives a better explanation of the delay than the English <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Johnny come lately.”</i></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Auguri! </b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(Best wishes)</i></div>
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</div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2051198531393129956.post-62885060513556983282012-01-21T10:54:00.000-05:002012-01-21T10:54:24.309-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span lang="EN-CA">Nobody loves pasta like the Italians and this is also reflected in some expressions such as: "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Avere le mani in pasta"</i></b>, (literally to have hands in the dough,) which is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">equivalent</i> to "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Something is in the wind."</i></b> Another popular expression is: "<strong>Sono tutti della stessa pasta",</strong><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>(they're all of the same dough) meaning <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"They are all the same." </i></b>I should add that the <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i></b>Italians<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have hundreds of names for pasta, such as: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">spaghetti, spaghettini, farfalle (butterflies )</i> but they look more like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">bow-ties, linguine,(little tongues), orecchiette (little ears) etc. </i>I should add that some of the names don't sound too appetizing to foreigners, such as <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">:capelli d"angelo</i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> (angel hair),<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">capellini</b> (little hairs), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">vermicelli</b> (little worms), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">strozzapreti</b> (priest-stranglers). </i>Italians are also proud of their bread and use it as a standard of excellence when they say : "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Buono come il pane", </i></b>that is "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">To have a heart of gold." </i></b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you say to an Italian that you have <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">20/20 vision</i> he would stare at you as they use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">10/10 vision (<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">dieci decimi di vista.)</b></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA">There is no lack of eccentricities in the Italian language, take the expression <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Buona notte al secchio,"</i></b>(Good night to the bucket) which corresponds to our North American phrase "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">We're screwed."</i></b> For <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"gigolo" </i>they use "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">cicisbeo", </i>I love the sound of this last word (cheecheesbeo.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If an Italian tells you "<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sei una frana" (</b>you are a landslide<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">)</i>he is actually saying that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"You are hopeless."</i></b> Here are a few short expressions that might have heard<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>or read:<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> "Cocco di mamma,"</i></b>(mummy's egg) for <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Mummy's darling."</i></b>For our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"<strong>Goodness gracious</strong>!"</i>they will say either <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Mamma mia!" or "Madonna!"</i></b>For the English word <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Nipples"</i></b>the Italians use a cozier word <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Capezzolo."</i></b> The Italian exclamation<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Cavolo!"(</i></b>cabbage) in my humble opinion is a better word than <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Wow!</i></b> and if you put <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">che</i></b> in front of it you get <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Che cavolo?</i></b>thus becoming<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b>more forceful and not as vulgar as the English <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"What the fuck?"</i></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">"</span></i></b><span lang="EN-CA">How many of you know that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Bimbo"</i></b>in Italian refers to a little boy <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">"Bambino," </i></b>while in English refers to an attractive and beautiful girl with a low IQ?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"></i></b></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA">Smile until next time.</span></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-CA"></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>Anthony D'Addesehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06455537014185032664noreply@blogger.com2