Time to Accept Change

My wife Kay, an English teacher by profession, seems to have accepted the new 21^st-Century English grammar;  I am still struggling to toss out some rules drilled into my brain during grade school and strictly followed ever since.  I’m just glad our family values and religious principles have not been “degraded”* like rules of English grammar have, according to common usage over so many years; (*that’s my opinion, anyway.)

Kay claims the Modern Language Association (MLA) is the ultimate authority on English language evolution.  Searching their mla.org website, I found no information to verify that, or examples to confirm any changes that have disturbed me for many years, especially in advertising and otherwise intelligent TV/radio talk.  The MLA organization is obviously for helping teachers and other professionals, and seems authoritative enough.  Don’t worry – I’m not losing any sleep over this; I just find it very interesting.  Maybe it's just me; (I'm accepting!) 

“Founded in 1883 by teachers and scholars, the Modern Language Association (MLA) promotes the study and teaching of language …”  -- www.mla.org

If you was me, what would you do?  There are lots of examples, and I may add another here.  As I’ve lamented before, “I guess this is us now.”  (Ouch!)  There went a fast lunch break.

Gratitude Attitude

A text message I received anonymously this morning started my day right:
"Happy Thanksgiving I am so thankful for all the amazing family and friends that I have” 6:52AM
--(perfectly understood without punctuation.)  Of course, I had to find out who sent it; so I searched my current NedNote (Notepad) file for the last 4 digits of the phone number, and found my young neighbor.  (I wish it were that easy to find certain other things in our home.)  I replied with thanks, and passed it forward to my close friend in St. George, Utah, and to family in Riverton.

Recalling my thoughts from two years ago (thanks again to Microsoft Notepad):

9:33 PM 11/29/2009 Sunday  ... Grateful to be alive after all these years!

[Previous] Thurs. Thanksgiving was a nice quiet day with Katie & Jared here; we all had a lot to be thankful for, including great food!  Sat. we hosted the whole family (except Angie & Chris.)  A family walk at GSL Shorelands Preserve was wonderful -just what we needed.

Watched with Quinn & family: "The First Thanksgiving" animated video from Living Scriptures; grateful for the Pilgrims' sacrifices and faith.

Teens Do Family History

How do you use the extra hour when we “fall back”?  I catch up on sleep and my writing.  It’s nice to have time returned which was taken from us last spring for daylight savings.  Thanks to a mobile phone being connected, I remembered this morning when my unconnected wristwatch and clock were clueless.

When I heard Elder David A. Bednar's 10/1/11 LDS General Conference talk on teenagers connecting with family history ("The Hearts of the Children ..."), I knew that was something our neighborhood teens should do.  A few years ago, I volunteered at the Ogden Regional Family History Center (ORFHC.org), mainly helping the youth get started using the old DOS program and converting to PAF.  They were excited!  Now technology is advanced and kids are even more skilled.  So I have been promoting the idea with our youth leaders and our teenage grandchildren since October conference.

On my first look at the November Ensign (a monthly magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), I started with the last page, and this news instantly got my attention:  

“New Site to Help Teens Start Family History:  The new FamilySearch Youth and Family History section of youth.lds.org (lds.org/familyhistoryyouth) aims to help youth discover family history and serve their ancestors by seeking out their records.  The site features resources that teach teens how to get started using FamilySearch. In five simple steps youth are taught how to research their family tree, make family records, and prepare names to take to the temple. The site also includes ideas on how classes and quorums can use family history as a means to serve others.”  --- http://lds.org/ensign/2011/11/new-site-to-help-teens-start-family-history?lang=eng

If teens can do family history, so can I.  As I improve my skills and get up to speed with this, maybe I can feel young again!

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)