In case you can't quite make it out - it currently reads: CONVENT (twice!). Now I admit I make my fair share of typos (and then some) - but really (!?!) ... I think someone working for Amazon has some serious childhood trauma relating to nuns ;P
oops ...
We're going to be getting the new Halo Wars Xbox game when it comes out on March 3rd. Looking at it on the Amazon page I noticed a little problem in the write-up (for any of you who don't know Halo - the enemy are called The COVENANT):
In case you can't quite make it out - it currently reads: CONVENT (twice!). Now I admit I make my fair share of typos (and then some) - but really (!?!) ... I think someone working for Amazon has some serious childhood trauma relating to nuns ;P
In case you can't quite make it out - it currently reads: CONVENT (twice!). Now I admit I make my fair share of typos (and then some) - but really (!?!) ... I think someone working for Amazon has some serious childhood trauma relating to nuns ;P
a case of the giggles
I got this in an e-mail - a couple I had heard before and a few I had not - thought I'd pass it on so we can all get a giggle:
Translation and Advertising
- Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
- The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"
- An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
- Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
- Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."
- The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."
- When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you."The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant"
NOTE:
They left out one of my all time faves: the Chevy Nova - which didn't sell well among the Spanish speakers of the Americas since 'no va' translates as "it doesn't go" - and who wants a car that advertises the fact it doesn't work? ;)
Translation and Advertising
- Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
- The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are you lactating?"
- An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I Saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
- Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
- Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken" was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."
- The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."
- When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you."The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant"
NOTE:
They left out one of my all time faves: the Chevy Nova - which didn't sell well among the Spanish speakers of the Americas since 'no va' translates as "it doesn't go" - and who wants a car that advertises the fact it doesn't work? ;)
101 Things in 1001 Days (more or less)
So while I wasn't feeling too well the last few days, I decided to compose my list of 101 goals for the next 1001 Days. If you don't know what I'm talking about read this: http://www.dayzeroproject.com/
This list was hard to make - either it's supposed to be, or it was the influence of fever and near lethal doses of vitamin C (OK, perhaps I embellish a bit but you get my point). Also - I've chosen the OFFICIAL start date of March 25, 2009 because I want the 1001 days to end on my 36th b-day (12/21/11) ... but I reserve the right to cheat a bit by starting some things now. If you can't handle that ... then go away and quit reading my blog ... LOL ;)
OK here we go ... my 101 in 1001 list (soon to be added to the sidebar where progress will be tracked):
This list was hard to make - either it's supposed to be, or it was the influence of fever and near lethal doses of vitamin C (OK, perhaps I embellish a bit but you get my point). Also - I've chosen the OFFICIAL start date of March 25, 2009 because I want the 1001 days to end on my 36th b-day (12/21/11) ... but I reserve the right to cheat a bit by starting some things now. If you can't handle that ... then go away and quit reading my blog ... LOL ;)
OK here we go ... my 101 in 1001 list (soon to be added to the sidebar where progress will be tracked):
Workout at least 5 days a week.
Learn to make croissants in Paris.
Convert FSTM script to play format.
Enter FSTM play into contests.
Spend a day at the British Museum.
Figure out Linux enough to stop swearing at my new computer. Or else give in and install XP.
See the Giant's Causeway.
Become as close to fluent in Spanish as possible.
Make yoga a habit – at least twice a week!
Learn French.
Finish ice crystal scarf (crochet).
Visit Newgrange.
Ruthlessly go through my stuff to trim it down (if it's been in a box for a year, or two, or ten - how much do I really need it?) to only what I really can't part with.
Pack and move only the trimmed down stuff – give the rest to Goodwill.
Move to Las Vegas (in May 2009?)
Read – and hopefully understand - my Spanish copy of “Love In the Time of Cholera”.
Bake something decadent EVERY Saturday (when home).
Start a big ORGANIC veggie garden.
Plant MANY fruit trees.
Plant an herb garden.
Figure out how to preserve (using my new dehydrator and my new water and pressure canners) the 'harvest'.
Write EVERY day.
Volunteer @ Nat. Hist. Museum in LV.
Finish Rhodec Assoc. program (by Feb 2010).
Get X-mas crafts (purchased in '08) done before X-mas '10!
Send at least 1 postcrossing postcard a month (once I'm settled in Vegas).
Learn how to knit socks.
Save enough money to visit Tigger again (after April '09) – at least once a year, but preferably more ;)
Finish “Ripe Cherries” (novel).
Send “Ripe Cherries” to at least 12 literary agents before I decide I suck too much to ever warrant representation and should just go straight to self-publishing (or slit my wrists).
Save $3000 (and hopefully find 3 weeks) to shoot the FSTM script.
At least start “Fall on Landing” (novel).
Read Ulysses - or (more realistically) at least make it past chapter 4.
Take a tour to Angkor Wat.
Buy (and hang) 5 wind chimes.
Become a Master Gardener.
Learn to GRACIOUSLY accept compliments without feeling like I have to point out the flaws in what I've done or who I am.
Join a photography club/group.
Join a book club/group.
Join a choir/chorus, or other vocal group.
Take up a sport – any sport – even a basically non-athletic one like ping pong – just one I like, can do without maiming myself, and can stick with.
Try lamb/mutton.
Machine quilt at least 12 shelter animal cage comforters for the Snuggles Project.
Purchase my first swimsuit in 20 years, so that I can ...
Learn to swim.
Knit at least 14 squares for Warm Up America.
Make some time to play the piano again – learn one new song.
Try to learn to play the guitar.
Re-read the complete Jane Austen.
Visit La Yen.
Visit K-Dragon.
Take a vacation to Chicago (Field Museum!).
Donate/Invest at least $25/month via either Kiva or Microplace.
Bake my own bread weekly (when home).
Write a poem a week.
Make my handwriting (such as it is) into a font – this may or may not ever prove useful, though I'm thinking it'd be neat for starting a new journal.
Send postcards whenever I travel.
Complete NaNoWriMo in at least one of these years: 2009, 2010, or 2011.
Go camping.
Either take the plunge and actually GET a tattoo, or admit I'm too scared I'll be allergic to the ink and give up on the idea completely. Or possibly split the diff and get a REALLY tiny 'test' tat ;)
Make new friends.
Keep in better touch with old friends – call a friend at least once a week!
Try a totally new recipe once a month.
Post a photo and said recipe on my blog.
Buy at least 5 pairs of high heels and embrace the fact that I am tall :)
Re-learn to walk in said high heels – preferably without breaking any bones/spraining anything.
Find the time/money to go to the opera at least once a season.
Make my mother happy by finding a Messiah Sing-Along to take her to during Christmas '09 and/or '10.
Do a crossword puzzle a week.
Stop biting my nails – a permissible solution is to get acrylics.
Wear more skirts.
Lose 5 dress sizes (one at a time) – and don't put them back on!
Get the spoiler (that resides in the trunk), the XM radio, and the white racing stripes installed on my car.
Acquire a library card again.
Make an apron a year.
Make a quilt for my bed.
Use crockpot at least twice a month.
Make a quilt for my mother.
Make Florentine Lace Cookies for my dad.
Keep working on genealogy!
Start therapy again – and be completely honest this time around.
Donate $25/mo to ASPCA.
Find a church I can stand to go to every week – if there be such a thing – and go.
Don't be guilted into doing things I don't want to do.
Stop being so perfectionistic that I feel like a constant failure – learn to really believe in the phrase “close enough”.
Try to be kind even when someone else is being rude.
Stop saying “Goddamnit!” when I'm frustrated – it's a cop-out, and it just amps the angst up rather than defusing it. Find a more functional alternative – something calming.
Get/give myself a manicure once a week.
Get/give myself a pedicure twice a month (or more).
Don't feel guilty about spending the mani-pedi time and money on myself.
Donate at least 500 grains of rice a month at FreeRice.com
Finish Monet Garden needlepoint.
Go to the gynecologist 3 times.
Go to the dentist 6 times.
Get new glasses and sunglasses twice – once in 2009, once in 2011.
Get personalized license plates.
Keep following Cesar Milan's books/dvds until the dogs are well behaved.
Collect a complete set of US State Quarters.
Take my mom to a taping of the Craig Ferguson show in LA.
Finally finish degree - BA from UNLV (Major: Anthro, Minor: Linguistic Studies)!!
Make a new 101 things list.
waiting game
Well, we're still waiting to hear from the seller's bank re: the Las Vegas house - it's a short sale so their bank has the final say, but the seller approved our offer so it's sort of halfway ours.
Obviously, the weekend is a dead zone in terms of any further progress - and of course tomorrow's a holiday ... so, I'm guessing we won't know anything until the middle or end of the week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed until then. If it works out, this will by our next (and, please God, our final) abode:
3 bed, 2 bath, on 0.28 of an un-landscaped acre (plenty of room for our dogs, a garden, fruit trees, and a pool). At the end of a cul-de-sac in a decent and cute little neighborhood. We're going to convert the garage into an apartment for me (or any future caregivers for my mom, should I ever actually move out).
I've been spending most of my online time lately looking up educational opportunities in Las Vegas - of which there seem to be a nearly endless supply. I was planning on continuing in the Rhodec Interior Design thing through to the end (it seemed to be the best option of what was available to me - living here). But, I've now taken it down to a lower-level qualification - which means I'll be done (and able to get a crappy ID underling-level job) come next February (instead of a better job sometime in 2011). I can always go back to the other program later, if I want to ..... but I think I'd rather focus on what Vegas has available :)
Obviously, the weekend is a dead zone in terms of any further progress - and of course tomorrow's a holiday ... so, I'm guessing we won't know anything until the middle or end of the week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed until then. If it works out, this will by our next (and, please God, our final) abode:
3 bed, 2 bath, on 0.28 of an un-landscaped acre (plenty of room for our dogs, a garden, fruit trees, and a pool). At the end of a cul-de-sac in a decent and cute little neighborhood. We're going to convert the garage into an apartment for me (or any future caregivers for my mom, should I ever actually move out).
I've been spending most of my online time lately looking up educational opportunities in Las Vegas - of which there seem to be a nearly endless supply. I was planning on continuing in the Rhodec Interior Design thing through to the end (it seemed to be the best option of what was available to me - living here). But, I've now taken it down to a lower-level qualification - which means I'll be done (and able to get a crappy ID underling-level job) come next February (instead of a better job sometime in 2011). I can always go back to the other program later, if I want to ..... but I think I'd rather focus on what Vegas has available :)
too much time on my hands
I saw Dr. Fisher (of Why Him? Why Her? and Chemistry.com) on 20/20 and decided to take the test and see what it says. Apparently I'm a:
Description:
Description: You are interested in the big picture. You like to examine large, ambiguous issues and ideas. You carefully weigh all of the variables involved, connect disparate facts in novel ways and regularly come up with imaginative solutions to complex problems. You see holistically and can be visionary.
You are friendly and humane. You have a big heart; you tend to trust people and sympathize with them easily. You intuitively know what they are thinking and feeling. And because you are agreeable and mentally flexible, you go out of your way to make others comfortable and happy. You seek to make intimate, meaningful friendships.
Your empathy and altruism spill over into a desire to make the world a better place. And with your resilience and imagination, your ability to do many things at the same time, your people skills and your command of language, you can be remarkably effective at improving the lives of others.
You are also traditional. You have clear moral values and tend to stick to your point of view. Yet you almost always seek consensus and harmony, and are willing to give up some of your pleasures to build an orderly, harmonious home and family life.
You are friendly and humane. You have a big heart; you tend to trust people and sympathize with them easily. You intuitively know what they are thinking and feeling. And because you are agreeable and mentally flexible, you go out of your way to make others comfortable and happy. You seek to make intimate, meaningful friendships.
Your empathy and altruism spill over into a desire to make the world a better place. And with your resilience and imagination, your ability to do many things at the same time, your people skills and your command of language, you can be remarkably effective at improving the lives of others.
You are also traditional. You have clear moral values and tend to stick to your point of view. Yet you almost always seek consensus and harmony, and are willing to give up some of your pleasures to build an orderly, harmonious home and family life.
- Sees the big picture
- Imaginative
- Intuitive
- Verbal skills
- Empathetic
- Trusting
- Introspective
- Traditional
- Social
- Loyal
- Dependable
- Patient
- Community oriented
- Orderly
You are a die-hard romantic, and you must have depth and meaning in your relationships. You like heart-to-heart exchanges that explore personal philosophies, goals, ethical dilemmas, and the meanings behind art, music, poetry or some other abstract topic. You are emotionally expressive and want your partner to share his or her genuine self with you. You also admire people who make plans and schedules. And you are attracted to a mate with a fixed moral compass. Moreover, for you, love must be embedded in a stable long-term relationship beginning with a march down the aisle. Most important, to balance your imaginative and supple spirit, you gravitate to people who know their own mind, make decisions quickly, focus on one thing at a time and can provide a stable home. And you can be very sensitive to your mate, communicating your emotions clearly and tenderly.
You tend to be well-adjusted, trusting, compassionate, intuitive and interested in people. And you work to keep your networks intact. You also look in as well as out; you are introspective. And you like probing the meanings of life. So you avoid casual chit-chat. You can be so agreeable that some people may overlook your complex personality.
- Because you can see so many angles to an issue or decision, you can be indecisive.
- Your need to please can make you placating and your trusting nature can make you gullible.
- When you feel betrayed you can be unforgiving and hold a grudge too long
You tend to naturally gravitate to the DIRECTOR/builders.
If you're bored enough to want to take the test (without having to join Chemistry.com) go here:
PS - talked my parents into taking the test too - my dad is a DIRECTOR/explorer (which breaks down to: my NEGOTIATOR gets along well with his DIRECTOR, but my builder wants to throttle his explorer - very accurate! LOL) and my mom came out to be a BUILDER/negotiator. So basically, I'm EXACTLY like my mother - but in reverse(!!) - no wonder we fight so much, LOL ;P
If you're bored enough to want to take the test (without having to join Chemistry.com) go here:
PS - talked my parents into taking the test too - my dad is a DIRECTOR/explorer (which breaks down to: my NEGOTIATOR gets along well with his DIRECTOR, but my builder wants to throttle his explorer - very accurate! LOL) and my mom came out to be a BUILDER/negotiator. So basically, I'm EXACTLY like my mother - but in reverse(!!) - no wonder we fight so much, LOL ;P
Raise your hand ....
if you knew you had to pay taxes on a limo and chauffeur provided for you by someone else.
Yeah, me neither.
OK, so this is not an issue in my life, but for some people it is - people like Tom Daschle. Not paying taxes on a car and driver (paid for by someone other than himself .. reportedly a 'lobbyist') is a big part of what got him in trouble and caused him to withdraw his name as an Obama nominee.
Frankly, I couldn't care less whom Obama appoints to any given position. And I couldn't care less about Tom Daschle. And I really couldn't care less about paying taxes on limos (or not) - though the logic of the need to do so escapes me ... I guess it must be considered a taxable gift(?). And I can think of a few billion people who'd be very glad to have such a problem be the bane of their existence (me included).
But come on .... it's not like these guys are Al Capone (or even Red Foxx). I know they're on the hook - that once you sign a form it becomes your responsibility, no matter who prepared it for you. But the tax code is hard - that's why people have accountants(!) - these seem more like MISTAKES than evasion. What the banks are doing with the bailout $$$ is a lot more worrisome to me than who screwed up their tax returns.
Personally, I would have rather seen the bad accountants get 'outed' (for the good of the other unsuspecting limo-riders in DC) than to see aspersions cast on the nominees .... but ... no one listens to me :(
Yeah, me neither.
OK, so this is not an issue in my life, but for some people it is - people like Tom Daschle. Not paying taxes on a car and driver (paid for by someone other than himself .. reportedly a 'lobbyist') is a big part of what got him in trouble and caused him to withdraw his name as an Obama nominee.
Frankly, I couldn't care less whom Obama appoints to any given position. And I couldn't care less about Tom Daschle. And I really couldn't care less about paying taxes on limos (or not) - though the logic of the need to do so escapes me ... I guess it must be considered a taxable gift(?). And I can think of a few billion people who'd be very glad to have such a problem be the bane of their existence (me included).
But come on .... it's not like these guys are Al Capone (or even Red Foxx). I know they're on the hook - that once you sign a form it becomes your responsibility, no matter who prepared it for you. But the tax code is hard - that's why people have accountants(!) - these seem more like MISTAKES than evasion. What the banks are doing with the bailout $$$ is a lot more worrisome to me than who screwed up their tax returns.
Personally, I would have rather seen the bad accountants get 'outed' (for the good of the other unsuspecting limo-riders in DC) than to see aspersions cast on the nominees .... but ... no one listens to me :(
new toy
My new 'laptop' arrived today, and so far I love it! It's compact, yet not so small that it's annoying to type - I was looking at smaller netbooks, but thought they'd be too hard to do any writing on - and it came preloaded with everything I like/need (like firefox and skype) - what's not to like? On top of that, I supposedly got some frequent flyer miles for buying it through the SkyMall site.
I've never had a Linux computer before - but so far it's great :)
I've never had a Linux computer before - but so far it's great :)
6 more weeks of winter? No!!!
It's supposed to be 26 here tomorrow (and snowing).
It's supposed to be 70 tomorrow in Las Vegas.
... sigh ...
It's supposed to be 70 tomorrow in Las Vegas.
... sigh ...
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