1st or 2nd Biggest Holiday?

On a quick morning break, I wonder if Halloween is the 1st or 2nd biggest U.S. holiday of the year.  Some of our fun-loving young neighbors apparently think it is #1, judging by graveyards, zombies, and other decorations set up in front yards.  I love to see it, but fortunately my wife and I are past that stage, so we can sit back and enjoy the work of others.

Google home page has a cute video of huge pumpkins being carved & lighted by the G team with costumes at headquarters, I suppose.  Then it automatically searched Halloween; (that’s spooky, like it somehow knew! (j.k.))  Here’s what it found (I’m sure everyone wants to know:)

"Halloween (or Hallowe'en), a contraction of All-Hallows-Eve (as in the day before 'All Hallows' or 'All Souls' Day), is an annual festival observed on October 31. ..."  -- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

The stock market was spooked at the open this morning, with all major indices or averages down –scary! (except for my put-options trick, which just now covered our holiday cost.)

My favorite fast food today?  Halloween candy I expect would be left over when trick-or-treating is done tonight.  (With the huge growth of our young neighborhood since last October, I could be in trouble!)

Have fun and be safe!  Watch out for the little ones flying around!

Who Are You? See TV

Last night in the first conference of our new LDS stake, President Daren Stevenson gave us a simple challenge: “Do family history work.”  It’s easy to say, but sometimes overwhelming just to think about doing.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? How would you answer that question? ...  What is my heritage? Who are my ancestors, and what stories of their life experiences are etched in my blood? What legacy have they left me and what legacy am I leaving to my posterity? These are the questions that are the beginnings of a life-changing adventure.”

“It is perhaps this curiosity that has spawned a loyal audience for a new type [of] “reality TV” — family history television. Shows like Faces of America, Who Do You Think You Are?, and The Generations Project are becoming more popular … These shows provide a wide variety of inspiring examples of how people just like you begin their search to discover their past … and learn more about themselves in the process.”  --- familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Television_Shows_and_Family_History

[For example:]  “2010 – The Generations Project -- explores the family histories of everyday people to uncover extraordinary stories.  --- byutv.org/thegenerationsproject

The more I get into family history, the more intrigued and excited I become about the hunt, and the sacred work that follows.

Happy Anniversary, LFF!

One year ago today, I wrote my first post:

“Sensing that many other readers are pressed for time, or may not be intensely interested in my shared journal [I found that to be true], I decided to blog with ‘language fast food’.”  And what an adventure it has been!

My second-year focus will be on (language of) personal history & family history from an LDS perspective.  I will include some related basic beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and make it a fast read.  Some posts will clean up leftover ideas from the first year (maybe improved with age, like fine wine and cheese), including occasional side orders of global economics, current events, English language exploration, etc.

And as I expressed a year ago, "Thank you for your interest.

Wishing you success and happiness,

and a little healthy fast food."

Happy first anniversary, Language Fast Food!

Battlegrounds

 

War against terror world-wide

Afghanistan

Battleground states

Presidential race: GOP vs. GOP, Dems vs. GOP;

--any battle fatigue yet?

Social networking: Google+ vs. Facebook

Tablets: Amazon Kindle Fire vs. Apple iPad2

Movie streaming: Netflix vs. Amazon, Hulu, MSFT Xbox 360

Bulls vs. bears

European financial crisis

Boeing vs. NLRB over the right to survive financially

War on poverty

Fight for jobs --the jobs front

What's happening on the illiteracy front?

Intra-family fights and inter-family feuds

Families united against evil

“Battle of the bulge”

Drug wars, street gangs, and gun-running gone amok

OWS (new initialism for Occupy Wall Street) vs. whatever!?

Muslim Brotherhood vs. Coptic Christians in Egypt

Born-again Christians vs. other Christians

God vs. Satan

High Noon (analogy)