Sunday, June 28, 2009

"How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?

Words, and classifications of words in different languages, do matter
clipped from www.npr.org
"How Does Our Language Shape the Way We Think?"
Look at it for a moment and ask yourself, "What three descriptive words come into my head when I look at a bridge?"
Golden Gate Bridge
OK, here's the same bridge. Does it by any chance look:
Words describing a bridge
Or, are you more likely to describe it as:
More words describing a bridge
The first batch of words — such as beautiful, elegant, slender — were those used most often by a group of German speakers
Lera Boroditsky,
told the group to describe the image that came to mind when they were shown the word, "bridge.
The second batch of words — such as strong, sturdy, towering — were most often chosen by people whose first language is Spanish.
El puente and die brucke
What explains the difference?
because the word for "bridge" in
is a feminine noun
in Spanish — el puente — is a masculine noun, native speakers unconsciously give nouns the characteristics of their grammatical gender
William Shakespeare may have said
"a rose by any other name would smell as sweet
but Boroditsky thinks
Words, and classifications of words in different languages, do matter
Romeo and Juliet
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Top reasons people are still using Internet Explorer

clipped from www.makeuseof.com
reasons for using internet explorer

(Via Kutender Via Digg)

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Clowns pwn Nazi/KKK rally - Awesome!

Truly brilliant. "Alex Linder the founder of VNN and the lead organizer of the rally kicked off events by rushing the clowns in a fit of rage, and was promptly arrested by 4 Knoxville police officers who dropped him to the ground when he resisted and dragged him off past the red shiny shoes of the clowns. http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7704982.html"
clipped from www.neatorama.com

Here’s an excellent example of pwnage: when the white supremacist group VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK tried to host a hate rally in Knoxville, Tennessee, they were foiled by … clowns!

“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt “White Flour”.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, “White flowers?” the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.
“White Power!” the Nazi’s tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, “ohhhhhh!” the clowns yelled “Tight Shower!” and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan’s directions.
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the new way to wipe your bum

extension of 18 inches!!!! Holy crap...where's his arse? In another postcode!
clipped from www.youtube.com
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the jesus car

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inmates dance to "Thriller"

clipped from www.youtube.com
1,500 plus CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center, Cebu, Philippines at practice! This is not the final routine, and definitely not a punishment! just a teaser.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009

my grandmother's first joke

she killed her anniversary party with this one out of the blue...

Walking through the jungle, a hunter found a dead tiger with a Pygmy standing proudly beside it. Amazed, the hunter asked, "Did you kill that tiger?"
"Why, yes," said the Pygmy.
"How could a little fella like you kill a beast like that?"
"I killed it with my club," explained the Pygmy.
The astonished hunter asked, "Wow! How big is your club?"
The Pygmy replied, "There are about 90 of us."

AwardBIOS Beep Code Troubleshooting

clipped from pcsupport.about.com

AwardBIOS Beep Code Troubleshooting

1 Short Beep

actually an "all systems clear"

1 Long Beep, 2 Short Beeps

has been some kind of error with the video card. Replacing the video card is usually the most you'll have to do

1 Long Beep, 3 Short Beeps

either the video card isn't installed or the memory on the video card is bad. Reseating or replacing the video card will typically fix

1 High Pitched Beep, 1 Low Pitched Beep (Repeating)

some kind of CPU problem. The CPU could be overheating or malfunctioning in some other way.

1 High Pitched Beep (Repeating)

the CPU is overheating. You'll need to figure out why the CPU is getting too hot before this Award beep code will go away.
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Michael Jackson - sand art

clipped from mynews.in
clipped from www.newkerala.com
Noted sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik immortalised 'King of Pop' Michael Jackson in sand on the scenic beaches of Puri, Orissa.
As tribute to the legendary singer, who had moon walked his way into the hearts of his fans, Patnaik created a four-feet high sand sculpture.
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how cheaper airlines operate

clipped from www.flickr.com
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Thursday, June 25, 2009

Old School "Medicine" Ads

cocaine, heroin, morphine, Quaalude and cigarettes were
"Not recommended for children under 6."
Lloyd Cocaine Toothache Drops
In the US, cocaine was sold over the counter until 1914 and was commonly found in products like toothache drops, dandruff remedies and medicinal tonics.
Metcalf's Coca Wine
Coca wine combined wine with cocaine, producing a compound now known as cocaethylene, which, when ingested, is nearly as powerful a stimulant as cocaine.
Vin Mariani Wine
The marketing efforts for coca wine focused primarily on its medicinal properties, in part because it didn't taste very good
Bayer Heroin
From 1898 through to 1910, heroin was marketed as a cough suppressant by trusted companies like Bayer -- alongside the company's other new product, Aspirin.
Smith Glyco-Heroin
Pantopon Roche Injectable Opium
"Try Pantopon in place of morphine for dependable, optimum relief of pain."
Ayer's Cherry Pectoral
Depending on which list of contents you reference, this cure for colds, coughs and "all diseases of the throat and lungs" contained either morphine or heroin.
Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup
Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup
Contained 65 mg of morphine per fluid ounce. "For children teething."
Quaalude-300
"Now the physician has one less tired, sleepy and apprehensive patient to contend with."
Dr. Batty's Asthma Cigarettes
Anheuser-Bush's Malt-Nutrine
Pabst Extract
Kimball White Pine and Tar Cough Syrup
Cosadein
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Biphetamine
weight loss
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