LKL’s Blog

And in news of the weird:

Chinese education officials have scrapped a job cut plan that allowed single-parent teachers with children to stay in work after it prompted a rash of divorces… 41 teachers at a single school file[d] for divorce in a week… In comparison, their town divorced a total of 34 couples in the whole of 2005.
Source: Single-parent job plan fuels divorce frenzy

What I can’t figure out is what the point was in the first place. Was it that only married teachers would be let go? Very strange way to deal with unemployment.

I’m reading an interesting book: A History of the World in 6 Glasses, by Tom Standage. According to the author’s extensive research, six drinks - beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca Cola - have shaped the world in ways that I could never have imagined. I’m not a history buff, but somehow the retelling of previously dull facts and events through these six drinks is absolutely fascinating. For example, one drink that holds pride of place in American history - think Boston Tea Party - had a “partner” that I’d never before heard mentioned in conjunction with it. The book has a few repetitive passages here and there, but overall it’s a great read.

Tonight is the season premiere of Smallville. Yay! I became an addict about a year ago, when I caught a couple of episodes on TV and decided to order seasons 1-4 on DVD. I watched them all just in time to catch the reruns of the first 3 episodes of season 5 on TV before I moved to Toulouse, and then had to wait for Season 5 on DVD, released a couple of weeks ago, to see what happened. And there was a great cliffhanger at the end, so I’ve been anxiously awaiting tonight’s resolution. Unfortunately, I’ll be out of town for the 2nd and 3rd episodes, so I’m hoping my brother will be able to TiVo them for me.

This week marks Google’s eighth birthday, and it is commemorated by yet another very clever doodle - take a close look at how many candles there are and what they spell out.

Google Blog: How long is 8 years in Internet time?

A couple of years ago, when I’d finally paid off my student loans and starting building up a bit of a savings account, I thought it would be nice if my money did some good. I did a bunch of research and found Wainwright Bank, a bank in Boston with a social and environmental agenda. It may not seem like much, but I feel good knowing that my savings are being used to promote community development and a sustainable society.

And it looks like I made an even better choice than I’d realized, as Wainwright is included in SustainableBusiness.com’s list of the top 20 publicly-traded sustainable companies: The 2006 SB20: Companies Changing the World (for the better!)

It’s one of the big questions, and the simple answer - live in a country where it’s spoken - is impractical for many people. Though my article addresses learning French, the essential concepts can be applied to any language: What Is the Best Way to Learn French?

Does anyone else mix up these words? They have completely different meanings, but whenever I see either one I have to think for a minute about which one it is. Of course I know what they mean, it’s just that the “philan” at the beginning of both words throws me off, so I thought I’d take a look at the etymology.

A philanderer is a man who has lots of affairs. The word philander, meaning lover, comes from Philander, a former literary name for a lover, from philandros (Greek) meaning loving/fond of men, from the root phil (loving/fond) + andr (man). Interesting… the etymology kind of makes it sound like it should be synonymous with homosexual.

A philanthropist is someone who assists charitable causes. Philanthropy is from philanthropia (Latin) from philanthropos (Greek) meaning humane/benevolent, from the same root phil + anthropos meaning mankind. Very interesting. So a philanderer is a man who loves men (or rather women), while a philanthropist loves mankind. A rather subtle but important distinction, no?

(Cross-posted to e Learn English Language forum)

My favorite French radio station is Le Mouv’. I started listening to it when I lived in Toulouse, and before I left I managed to find it on the internet. It’s a fairly good mix of music, mainly alternative rock (which they call indé, an apocope of indépendant), about half in French and half in English, with the occasional song in another language. Unfortunately, the connection can be a bit spotty.

I tend to put Le Mouv’ on in the morning while doing a mots fléchés, which I’ve become addicted to - I have to do one every morning - and then keep listening while doing non-work stuff.

I just saw one of the funniest movies ever - Noises Off, with Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Carol Burnett, Denholm Elliott, Julie Hagerty, Nicolette Sheridan, and Marilu Henner! Since it’s over 10 years old, it’s unlikely I would have ever picked it out myself, but I will forever be grateful that Netflix recommended it. The first half is just ok, but I laughed until I cried throughout the entire second half. Rent it, buy it, whatever - just see it!

Last week I drove down to South Carolina with my husband and mother. Since it was a 12-hour trip, we rented a car and drove in two-hour shifts. Like many drivers, my husband and mother both tend to be a bit lead-footed on long trips, commonly going 15-20 miles over the limit. As for myself, I go no more than 7 over the limit - even if that means spending an extra hour in the car - to avoid having to pay a $100+ speeding ticket. (Yes, I stay in the right lane to allow all of the speeders to pass me.) Both of my travel companions were rather annoyed about my relative slowness, mocking me good-naturedly and trying to convince me about how much more fun it is to speed. Do you have any idea how odd it is to be peer-pressured into doing something “bad” by your own mother?