Ich habe keine Idee

It has been a long dry spell. I haven't been able to come up with anything to blog about. I promised myself that I will not be pressured into writing. Still, I have been wondering "why can't I write like before?" I have been turning to articles, tags and jokes from the web to get by. I have contemplated on taking a long hiatus but decided against it. I have met so many beautiful and interesting people since I stepped into the blogosphere. It is hard to stay away from them and their blogs.

Some blogs take me down memory lane. Some blogs bring awareness about the less fortunate in our world. Some speak about events in their life and some about our current socio-political scene. With so much inspiration around me, I should be able to blog about something, right? Nein. Ich habe keine Idee (Translation: No, I have no idea).

Hey! wait.. I am into my third paragraph. That's progress albeit just ramblings. Before I go on aimlessly, I would like to share something that has always amused me, no matter how many times I've read it.

Europe English

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the EU rather than German which was the other possibility.

As part of the negotiations, Her Majesty's Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a five year phase-in plan that would be known as "Euro-English".

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of the "k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have 1 less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be ekspekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible. Governments will enkorage the removal of double letters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e"s in the language is disgraseful, and they should go away.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters.After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi to understand ech ozer. Ze drem vil finali kum tru

While we are on that, have you seen this video before?

See... English is important!

In case you're wondering, I am not going on a German-bashing spree here. I'm just sharing what I've experienced hearing in the past six years.

I can speak a little German but I always try to get away by saying, "Sprechen Sie Englisch? Mein Deutsch ist nicht gut." (Translation: Do you speak English? My German is not good.) Try, I said. Sometimes - no luck.

I don't mind speaking the language. I am just afraid that someone will take that little knowledge I have as an indication to carry out a conversation. Believe me, that happened in my first year in Germany. I used to give a defeated look and then promptly declare, "Ich spreche Deutsch nicht" (Translation: I don't speak German) afterwhich I would get a strange look. Why? Because I just spoke in German! I probably came off as unfriendly. Oh well ...

Wow... I just wrote an entry and I thought I couldn't. I guess that is all for now. Till the next time, adios ... I mean Auf Wiedersehen.

A Music Shuffle

I am tied up with some things currently and will not be able to update my blog regularly. Since I just cannot think of anything to blog about today, I will resort to fulfilling another tag (which I should have done about two weeks ago). I was tagged by Rad - to do "A Music Shuffle MeMe".

Since she was unsure of the origin and details of this tag, she modified it a little - to her taste.

I was curious about its origin and I 'googled' this game (two weeks ago) and found many forms of "Shuffle Your Music".

I am going with this version:

Rules: To play this, you need an Ipod or Mp3 player with a "shuffle" feature that allows random shuffling among all the music stored on it. You can even do this on your computer music library, like iTunes, if it’ll let you shuffle.

Answer each question by shuffling to the next song to see what song comes up...and there’s the answer to your question!

1. How does the world see me? She - Elvis Costello (from Nottinghill Soundtrack)

She may be the face I can't forget
The trace of pleasure or regret
Maybe my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day

She may be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a Heaven or a Hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell....

2. Will I have a happy life? As Time Goes By - Frank Sinatra

3. What do my friends really think of me? Piano Man - Billy Joel

Sing us a song, youre the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, were all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright

4. Do people secretly lust after me? For The Longest Time - Billy Joel

HAHAHAHA ....*pause* ... HAHAHAHAHA
How funny was that - to land on that song?

5. How can I make myself happy? Beyond The Sea - Bobby Darin

Another land, perhaps.

6. What should I do with my life? Volare - Dean Martin

I will fly! (that's what 'Volare' means in Spanish). Fly as far and as wide as I can.

7. What is my day going to be like? My Way - Frank Sinatra

8. What is some good advice for me? My Humps - Black Eyed Peas

HAHAHAHA... *pause*... HAHAHAHA
What you goin' do with all that junk? All that junk , inside your trunk?

9. How will I be remembered? When You're Good To Mama - Queen Latifah (from Chicago soundtrack)

When you're good to this mama, she'll be good to you. HAHAHA

11. What song will play at my funeral? Almost Paradise - Anne Wilson & Mike Reno (from Footloose soundtrack)

12. What type of men do I like? When You Say Nothing At All - Ronan Keating

I am trying not to impose this on anyone, although I have some people in mind. If you want to blog about something fun and light, please feel free to pick this up.

If your kids are bored and do not know what to do with themselves (and probably brooding around the house), have a family game session and get them to share their music with you (that way you will know what they are listening to). Be creative. Make up new questions - make fun of your relatives, if you have to. :D Have fun!

“Fun is good.” - Dr. Seuss

"People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing."
~ Dale Carnegie

Update: Following some comments, I think I am able to figure out who would like to try this. I hereby tag:

Rashikaps
Winnie the Pooh
Pearly
Kak Teh

Take your time. It is no fun if you pressure yourself. This tag is valid until ... the twelfth of never. :)

You're fortunate ...

Whenever I eat at a Chinese restaurant (or order a take-out) here in Germany, a fortune cookie comes with the meal. It is always fun to break it open to read the message. Some cookies are too hard to bite into and if I defied common sense, then I am just another fool contributing to my dentist's next vacation.

Did you know that fortune cookies originated from California? That's right - in the good old U.S. of A. However, no one knows who the actual inventor was and which city in California is the true home of the fortune cookie. It is still being debated. (Don't people have other things to do?)

According to one history, David Jung, a Chinese immigrant living in Los Angeles and founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. He was concerned about the poor meandering around his shop. He created the cookie and passed them out free on the streets. He stuffed each cookie with a strip of paper with an inspirational Bible scripture on it, written for him by a Presbyterian minister.

Another history asserts that the fortune cookie was invented in San Francisco by a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara. He was a gardener who designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. Around the turn of the century, an anti-Japanese mayor fired him from his job. He was later reinstated by a new mayor. In appreciation for those who stood by him during his period of hardship, Hagiwara created a cookie in 1914 that included a thank you note inside. He passed them out at the Garden and began serving them there regularly.

Fortune cookies became common in Chinese restaurants after World War II. Since desserts were not traditionally part of Chinese cuisine, the cookies offered Americans something familiar with an exotic flair.

Some individuals actually like the texture and flavor of fortune cookies (I won't mind it if they were a little crispier) but many consider the fortune to be the essence of the cookie.

In the early days, fortunes featured Biblical sayings, or aphorisms from Confucius, Aesop, or Ben Franklin. Later, they began to recommend lottery numbers. Smiley faces, jokes and banal advice were also added as messages. Politicians have used them in campaigns (will we see this in the next elections?). Today, fortune cookies are customised for weddings and birthday parties too.

When I get a fortune cookie, I can't wait to break it open for a prediction because no matter what message I get, it amuses me (you will know why when you read right to the end).

Here are some samples of messages we can get in fortune cookies these days.

A secret admirer will soon send you a sign of affection.

If you continually give, you will continually have.

Your heart will always make itself known through your words.

Love is like wildflowers...it is often found in the most unlikely places.

Something you lost will soon turn up.

A pleasant surprise is in store for you.

You will be invited to an exciting event.

Flattery will go far tonight.

You can always find happiness at work on Friday.

The greatest danger could be your stupidity.

You should be able to undertake and complete anything.

The first step to better times is to imagine them.

The skills you have gathered will one day come in handy.

Someone told me that a fortune cookie message is more fun to read when the words "in bed" are added to the end of the sentence. I have never been able to go back since that revelation. Go ahead, try it with the ones above.

Did not have enough? For more samples, go here.
Read more about fortune cookies here.

Juvenile Views

The innocence of a child never ceases to amuse me. Here are some children's views on life, love and relationships.

WHAT EXACTLY IS MARRIAGE?

"Marriage is when you get to keep your girl and don't have to give her back to her parents." - Eric, 6

HOW DOES A PERSON DECIDE WHOM TO MARRY?

"You flip a coin and heads means you stay with him and tails means you try the next one." - Kelly, 9

"My mother says to look for a man who is kind ... That's what I'll do... I'll find somebody who's kinda ... tall and handsome." - Carolyn, 8

CONCERNING THE PROPER AGE TO GET MARRIED.

"Eighty four because at that age, you don't have to work anymore and you can spend all your time loving each other." - Sandra, 8

"Once I'm done with kindergarten, I'm going to find me a wife." - Bert, 5

HOW DID YOUR MOM AND DAD MEET?

"They were at a dance party at a friend's house. Then they went for a drive but their car broke down. It was a good thing because it gave them a chance to find out about their values." - Laura, 9

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

"On their first date they just tell each other lies and that usually get them interested enough to go for a second date." - Martin, 10

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?

"You should never kiss a girl unless you have enough money to buy her a ring and her own VCR because she'll want to have videos of the wedding." - Allan, 10

"Never kiss in front of people. It's a big embarrassing thing if anybody sees you. If nobody sees you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy but just for a few minutes." - Karen, 9

THE GREAT DEBATE: IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

"You should ask people who read Cosmopolitan." - Linda, 10

"It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need somebody to clean up after them!" - Anita, 9

It gives me a headache to think about that stuff. I'm just a kid. I don't need that kind of trouble." - William, 7


“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.” ~ Dr. Haim Ginott

Is Your Pool Safe?

A blogger from Brazil dropped by my blog for a visit recently. Her name is Odele Souza. This was her comment:

"Hello, I am Brazilian. I arrive here because I read your comment in David Santos' blog. My blog, Flavia, Vivendo em Coma (Flavia, living in Eats) is dedicated to my daughter Flavia, who is in coma for more than nine years. The blog is written in Portuguese but you can read it in English or another language, just clicking on the right flag. The translation is not so good but helps. Thanks for your attention. ... "

I visited her blog and used the computer translation (note to self: learn more languages!). My heart went to bits reading about her daughter's condition. I still could not understand what caused Flavia to be in a coma until yesterday when Odele posted a story about a young girl, named Abigail Taylor, who nearly died in an awful pool accident.

I wanted to share Flavia's story but I did not want to give out any wrong information based on the computer translation. I had to ask Odele for her help. Here's what she said:

"The translation services on the blog is not any great prize, and because of this you didn't understant the whole story about Flavia. When I mention the accident with Abigail is because of the same reason. I meam, both Flavia and Abigail had been victims of a filtration system of a pool, - with problem.

On January 06, 1998 Flavia was swimming in the pool of the building were we lived, whem the filtration system of the pool got Flavia's hair under water, and this happened because of the strong suction of the drain, that lately was proved had problem. Abigail like Flavia, were victim of negligence. If the filtration system is in order nothing happens with people while swmming, but if on the contrary, the filtration system is not in order, it can be very dangerous to be in the pool.

It is important to protest against this kind of negligence and clain for justice. That is what I am trying to do with Flavia'a blog: Clain for justice, because till now, ten years after the accident that left Flavia in Coma, the responsible for the negligence with the drain didn't pay for nothing. It is also important to alert people for this kind of danger in the pools.

In spite of my English is not any great prize too, I hope you can understand now a litlle more about Flavia and Abigail accident...."

This is an excerpt of Abigail's story from Kare11 News, Minneapolis:

"Abigail Taylor is what doctors call a medical miracle. The six-year-old is sitting up, talking and fully aware that she nearly died last Friday in a horrific pool accident at the Minneapolis Golf Club's Kiddie Pool. Abigail sat on the drain at the bottom of the pool and doctors say her bottom created suction on the drain. They say the strength of the suction from the drain pulled part of her small intestines out of her rear end. Her mom says Abbey somehow pulled herself off the drain and out of the pool before collapsing into the deep end of the regular pool."

Read more here.

This is an excerpt from Baltimore's WJZ's report:

"In some pools, the suction is strong enough to pull your insides out.

That's the disturbing reality for a six-year-old in Minnesota girl. There's a push for tougher pools safety laws to stop it from happening in Maryland. Mike Hellgren reports little Abigail Taylor has bright brown eyes and a big smile, but she will never be the same again after a pool drain in a swimming pool sucked out her intestines and ended up in the filter.

"She more or less blacked out, she passed out, fell face-first onto the pool decking," said her father Scott Taylor.The suction ripped a hole in her rectum. She'll have to be fed through a tube and will have to wear a colostomy bag for the rest of her life."It never even crosses anybody's mind that potential at the bottom of that pool is enough force to literally disembowel a child, an adult," said Scott Taylor"

Read more here.

Since 1990, 170 people--mostly children--have been caught in drains and 27 of them have died. (File) CBS

(Picture from wjz.com)

Odele Souza added:

".. To read more about Abigail'story in Google search "Abigail Taylor accident pool" and you can read the story in English. About Flavia unfortunately what exists till now is only in Portuguese, so you can help telling also her story in your country.

As I told you, both accidents happened because of the strong suction of the filtration system in the pool were the girls - Flavia and Abigail were swimming. I am very concerned about Abigail because I am afraid she can stay like my daughter Flavia, who is still unconscious, even ten years after the accident. ..."

In case you are wondering how a swimming pool works, you can read about it here.