It's Vivaldi's Birthday!

In honor of Antonio Vivaldi and his birthday, here's the concerto Spring from his composition The Four Seasons, performed by Julia Fischer accompanied by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. This post is not only to celebrate what is unarguably Vivaldi's best-know composition, but also wishful thinking on my part...seeing as how it's still winter, but that I'm desperately looking forward to springtime.

Why English is Such a Difficult Language

From the archives:

1.) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail

18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.

19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write  - but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth?

One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship?

Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.


P.S. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?

You Can't Skip

You can't skip this Geico ad, although it's well worth watching to the end.

Crunch Time

In the early days of movie theaters, popcorn was banned because it was too noisy.

Same Time Next Year

No, not the movie, but next year's February will fall in a Leap Year and will have 29 days.  So, today next year will be what is March 1st this year and last year (this year) it wasn't even there!

I've known two people who were born on the extra day in Leap Year; one was a daughter of a girlfriend who was nine at the time (the daughter, not my g/f, for cryin' out loud!) but would tell people she was only two.  I know she meant to be cute and I'm sure her mother thought so as well, but it made people think she was a little less than average intelligence...until she explained.  The "joke" got old with me, but I guess she felt as though it made her unique.  I dunno;  I was born the same day as JFK and I never dated anyone as hot as Marilyn Monroe, so.... 

The other person was an old man, the grandfather of a classmate;  he lived into his 90's and I remember his family throwing him a "30th" birthday party.  I guess they saved on candles, though.